Shinigami
by Kuiya
Summary: This is a sequel to Duo? a ghost story! And my readers said they enjoyed it and couldn't wait for a sequel, so I recommend that you read Duo? and come back to Shinigami for more!
1. Breaking the Rules

Just doing some rewriting. 

Disclaimers: Don't own GW.

Warnings: Yaoi

Shinigami Chapter 1: Breaking the Rules

Duo and Heero gazed out the window at the two little boys playing in their front yard. Duo smiled as the serious looking one whapped the other upside the head lightly. He smirked as the other fell to his back on the grass laughing.

Heero tilted his head curiously. He wondered if he and Duo would have been like that had they met at that age. He glanced sideways at Duo and smiled gently at the happy twinkling in his lover's eyes.

Duo turned away and sighed.

Heero blinked. "You ok, Duo?"

Duo smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm ok. Just thinking, I guess," he replied.

Heero turned back to the window as the two little boys chased each other back to the other side of the street. He smiled. They couldn't have been more than eight years old, but they were best friends. Heero and Duo had been watching them for a while; since Heero had gotten back, which had been about a year ago.

Duo put an arm around Heero's shoulders and his eyes flashed silvery-violet. Heero looked at him and grinned. Duo kissed him lightly and led him back away from the window.

Right before they reached the bottom of the stairs, a loud crack reached their ears and a huge plume of thick, black smoke seemed to crash to the floor before them. Heero leaped backwards while Duo stumbled back as well.

As the smoke spread and eventually disappeared, the figure of a cloaked something became slowly visible. The figure waved its arm and the smoke vanished.

The figure was a cloaked person whose hood was pulled down far enough to only allow its mouth to be seen, the rest of its face was in shadows. The person - a man - was frowning. "This smoke can get really old, really fast..." he said and coughed.

Heero and Duo watched intently while the man folded his arms across his chest and tilted his head at them. They could see his eyes gleaming, but nothing else in the shadow. The man sighed and pointed to Heero. "You are Heero, right?"

Duo stepped in front of Heero, glaring at the man suspiciously. "Who wants to know?" he inquired.

The man smirked, revealing a fang. "I thought so. He will be coming with me." He stepped forward, receiving a warning growl from Duo. He stopped and sighed. "You're going to make this difficult..." He tilted his head again, as though thinking, and sighed. "He_has_ to come with me."

"Why?" Duo snapped, scowling.

The visitor crossed his arms and leaned on one foot. "Orders. Besides, rules are rules, and he broke the rules."

Duo rolled his eyes impatiently. "What rules are you talking about? And who ordered you to come take him?" he demanded.

The man grinned. "The orders come from no one. But as for the rules... Well, neither of you would know of them."

"Then why aren't you explaining them?" Duo cried, his self control slipping away gradually. His eyes flashed dangerously.

The man sighed. "He was supposed to come with me the day he died."

"Why didn't you just take him then?" Duo snapped.

He sighed again. "He died in a hospital. The hospital is a free place and those who die there may leave if they so desire, but no one except him-" He motioned to Heero. "-has ever done so." He shook his head. "He had fled before I got to him! Do you have any idea how many people die in one day? A lot, I'll tell you that. And I couldn't exactly get to him right when he died, I had to finish what I was doing."

Duo snarled. "Who are you?"

He grinned and bowed low. "Shinigami!" He straightened up. "Not really at your service!" He chuckled to himself.

Heero tilted his head. That voice sounded so familiar... But he couldn't tell who it sounded like. This man claimed to be Shinigami - The Death God, but he never knew a death god.

Heero turned his gaze to Duo. He was scowling and his eyes burned threateningly. He looked back at the intruder. He could tell that Shinigami was watching him, despite the fact that he couldn't see his eyes. The corners of Shinigami's mouth turned up slightly in a gentle smile. Heero shot him a confused look.

He stepped forward, pushing Duo's protective arm back down to his side. "Why didn't you take Duo when he died, then?" he asked quietly.

Shinigami's eyes flicked to the said boy and he thought for a moment. "That was over a year ago; I don't exactly know." He sighed and shrugged. "I would have if I'd gotten orders to, but I guess I didn't. I could also have come to retrieve him any time I wished since he is confined here."

Heero nodded. "Who gives you orders? You said no one does, but that doesn't make any sense."

Shinigami nodded in understanding. "Yes, I know it's confusing, but I get my orders from... well... Basically I get them from myself. That must be even more confusing since you are not any kind of God." He smirked. "You can't understand where my orders come from, but I work alone, there is no one else to help me. I am the only one."

"How did you become Shinigami?" Heero asked curiously. Duo rolled his eyes and waited impatiently for the two to stop talking.

Shinigami noticed Duo's sudden change of attitude and grinned with amusement. "I never really became Shinigami. It's kind of like a monarchy: When the king dies, his heir takes his place. But I have no parents to speak of, I just... happened." He shrugged. "I have been Shinigami for..." He thought a moment. "For sixty-billion, seven-hundred twenty-three million, eight-hundred ninety-four thousand, and five-hundred eleven years." He grinned immensely. (60,723,894,511)

Duo blinked. Heero quirked an eyebrow. "That long, huh?" Heero sighed and shook his head. He looked back up with a new curiosity. "Where do people go when they die?"

Shinigami crossed his arms. "That depends." He hesitated.

"On what?" Heero asked.

"Me, I decide where they should go." He grinned. "Don't take this the wrong way, though. I'm fair. Besides, they decide where they want to go most. I just send them where they deserve to be, based on their life of course."

Duo sighed exasperatedly. Shinigami looked at him in surprise. He then dropped his head so his chin was almost resting on his chest and fell silent.

After a few moments, he looked up again. "Hm... Well, I really have to go. I'm already way behind schedule." With that, he swayed in his place before he blurred and Heero was gone from Duo's side.

Shinigami stood in his spot again, with one of his arms securely around Heero's shoulders. Heero's eyes were large and blank as he stood there. Duo growled and lunged at them. But Shinigami was quicker. He shot his free hand up into the air and the two vanished in a curtain of smoke.

Duo heard Shinigami's laughter ringing through the house and he whirled around, thrusting his fist into the wall behind him. He cried out in anger, his voice echoing in the empty hallways.

He closed his eyes and sank to the floor next to the wall which now had a faint crack in it. He leaned his head against the wall and just sat there for only a few moments before another crack came from the same spot as before. Duo leaped to his feet and whirled angrily, but stumbled backwards at the bright, white light before him.

He brought his arm up to shield his eyes and he peered into it. Someone sighed as the light faded quickly. Duo brought his arm down and stared, unbelievingly at who stood before him. "Quatre!" he exclaimed.

The blonde boy smiled warmly at his old friend. "Hi Duo."


	2. Summerland

Rewriting. 

Disclaimers: Don't own GW.

Warnings: Yaoi

Shinigami Chapter 2: Summerland

Duo smiled faintly at his old friend, but confusion showed plainly in his eyes. Quatre was wearing a robe much like Shinigami's but without the long sleeves to cover his hands and without the hood. It was a gentle lavender color with blue designs on it and a gold cord-like rope around his middle.

Quatre noticed Duo looking at his unusual attire and smiled. Duo turned his eyes back to Quatre's and stepped forward timidly. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

Quatre sighed. "Is it not obvious? I came to retrieve you." On seeing the confused look cross the braided boy's face he added, "When someone decides to stay on earth, they can really only stay for a short time until they accept that they have died and allow one of us to come and take you on."

Duo blinked. "On?" he repeated. "On where? Where's Heero? Who's 'we'? And why didn't I move 'on' earlier? I know I'm dead and I'm happy!"

"You're going to Summerland, I have no idea where Heero is, we as in the... well, I guess you could call us 'agents' of Summerland. And as for you staying here when you know you're dead is a mystery to me." Quatre tilted his head. "Why did you ask me where Heero is? I thought he'd have stayed here, with you."

"He was... for about a year, but Shinigami took him. Just before you came. Was that just coincidence?" he asked.

Quatre shrugged. "I guess so... But how could Heero have gone to Shinigami?"

Duo shook his head. "I don't know, he said that he deals with all deaths."

Quatre quirked an eyebrow. "He did? He was lying... He is the keeper of the... lesser Summerland. But he just likes to call it hell, even though there is no such place. There is no heaven or hell, just Summerland." Duo gazed at him blankly, so he continued, "Everyone goes to a level of Summerland when they die. There are five different levels. The top level is where people will go when they want to be reborn. The next one down is the actual Summerland itself, where people have accepted that they have died and live happily for as long as they please until they choose to be reborn. The third level down is where people know they have died, but still choose to do the things they did when they were alive, such as exercising, going to work, eating, things like that that they think they still need." He paused. "Are you getting all of this?"

Duo nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think so."

Quatre nodded. "Ok, so the fourth level down is where people don't really realize that they have died, so they go on to live the lives they did when they were alive. They aren't exactly happy there, of course because of all the problems in the world. But most who go there first eventually become aware of the change in the world around them and are helped to the next level up. And the last level is just the opposite of Summerland. People there are negative and pessimistic and they refuse to believe that they have passed on. It is a dark place where no light can reach and the air is thick with depression." He stopped and shook his head sadly.

Duo's eyes widened. "But if Shinigami is the keeper there, then Heero's there too?" he cried.

Quatre nodded again. "Yes, but Heero has led a fine life up until his death... So Shinigami must have had his own reasons for taking him there. Shinigami is not a cruel person in the least, but he has his off days and will do something odd every once in a while. He wouldn't put Heero in that level of Summerland for no reason."

Duo's expression hid nothing. He was desperate, and Quatre knew it. "Can you get him back? If he doesn't deserve to be there, and he's accepted his death, then you should be able to, right?"

Quatre stayed silent for a time before answering. "Duo," he said quietly. "I don't know if we could get him back or not. It isn't up to me who should go where, but we could try. Shinigami does come up to the other levels once in a while, I'll talk to him next time he comes up."

Duo looked down and nodded sadly.

Quatre tilted his head in pity for the braided boy. He sighed. "Come on, Duo," he said quietly. He stood next to Duo with an arm around his shoulders. He raised his hand slowly and they both disappeared in a white cloud.

Duo closed his eyes as he felt wind on his face. He felt like he was sitting on the wing of a plane or something, but it only lasted for a moment. He opened his eyes when he felt that they had stopped.

His eyes grew wide at the sight before him. Gently rolling hills stretched for miles on end before meeting with the mountains in the distance. Duo glanced to his right. There he saw a huge river and a waterfall that dropped down off of a hidden cliff.

Duo squinted. There was a house settled on a bit of land in the center of the river. He turned back to Quatre. "Is that yours?" he asked, motioning to the house.

Quatre smiled and shook his head. "No, actually it's yours. This has been here since you died," he said, walking around Duo and gazing at the house. "You were just never here to claim it."

Duo gave Quatre a confused look. "How could you know that if I died before you did?"

Quatre shrugged. "I learned." He smiled. "Just as you will."

Duo nodded and turned to look at the house again. He tilted his head. "How are you supposed to get to it?"

"Like this," Quatre said and blurred. From the house, Quatre waved to Duo. Duo's jaw dropped.

"How did you do that?" he asked as Quatre came back.

"It's easy, you can do it too. Just imagine it happening. That's how everything works here; if you can see it in your mind's eye, it will happen for you," he said with a smile.

Duo walked up to the edge of the river. "Can I walk across?" he asked, kneeling next to it and feeling the water slowly passing through his parted fingers.

Quatre tilted his head. "I suppose so..." He smiled and stepped out onto the water flowing slowly beneath him. He shrugged and started to walk toward the house.

Duo timidly put his right foot on the surface of the water. "It feels like glass!" he called to Quatre happily. Duo took a few steps out onto the water and stood there with his arms spread out as though he thought he was going to slip and fall. He grinned nervously and started walking. He bent down and touched the water again. He could still feel it even though it felt like he was walking on solid ground.

Quatre turned around to make sure Duo was doing ok and laughed. Duo didn't even realize that he was sinking. Duo looked up at him and his eyes widened as the water reached his middle.

He shrieked and sank to the bottom like a rock. He blinked. "Quatre? Am I going to drown?" he asked, air bubbles forming in the water. He looked around at the bottom of the river in fascination. The bed was a soft sand from which sprouted all kinds of different, colorful plant life. All around him, schools of fish of all sizes swam together. They glittered in the clear water and their scales flashed every color imaginable.

Quatre kneeled above Duo. He smiled and shook his head. "Duo, you're hopeless!" he called down with a laugh. "You can't drown, you're already dead!"

"But how do I get back up?" he asked as a huge fish as long as his legs came to investigate. He waved his arm and it swam away.

"The same way you do everything here, imagine it in your mind's eye and it will happen." Quatre stood up and sighed as he watched Duo trying to grab a small fish.

Duo grinned as that fish also swam away. He looked up and imagined himself floating back up to the top of the water. "Quatre! It's not working!" he said.

Quatre rolled his eyes. "Then just come along from down there!" he replied.

Duo shrugged and began walking. He started to rise up to the top again the farther he walked. "It's like stairs!" He grinned up at Quatre who nodded.

When he finally did make it to the top, his eyes was the only part of him above water as he peered around. He grinned and jumped on the surface. He looked down at himself and at his backside. "I'm not wet!" he cried excitedly.

Quatre nodded again and led Duo up to the house.

Duo looked around the small isle. It was completely covered in plant life. Huge flowers in full bloom speckled the green picture with vibrant colors. Duo's eyes sparkled at the sight. He turned to follow Quatre with a wide smile dancing on his lips. "Hey, Quatre?"

Quatre turned.

Duo's smile vanished. "How often does Shinigami come here?" he asked softly. He sighed. "I wish Heero was here too..." He looked down at the dirt path sadly.

Quatre sighed. "I could send for him... I doubt he will come unless I go myself." He shuddered. "But I do not dare go into the fifth level unless forced."

"Isn't there some other way around? Like a path that leads directly to him?" Duo asked.

Quatre shook his head. "He roams around the fifth level freely, watching over his land."

Duo swallowed hard. "Would it be possible for me to go?" he asked quietly.

"Why would you want to? He'll come back on his own and we can talk to him then!" Quatre said.

Duo shook his head. "I want to know that Heero is safe. I want him here, with me." He looked back up at Quatre. "You can't understand how I feel since Trowa is here with you, not in some hellish place where he doesn't deserve to be!" Duo cried.

Quatre looked down, but then back up. "I never said I understood how you felt, Duo. I was just giving you some friendly advice," he said sternly.

"But you think that waiting for Shinigami to come will be all right! It's not! I can't stand it when I don't know where Heero is!" Tears began to well in Duo's eyes. He lowered his voice to a more menacing tone. "What if Heero isn't ok? What if Shinigami did something bad to him? How would we know? And what if Shinigami doesn't come back? What if he waits another eternity to return here?"

Quatre sighed. "It doesn't do any good to ask ourselves the 'what if's, that will just make you worry more. And if you feel that strongly about finding Heero, then I will take you to the fifth level."


	3. The Fifth Level

Rewriting 

Warnings: Yaoi

Disclaimer: Don't own GW.

Shingami Chapter 3: The Fifth Level

In no time at all, Quatre and Duo were in a large city-like place where the business of Summerland was dealt with. When they arrived at a building about 10 stories high at least, Duo finally realized something. "Quatre," he started, looking at his surroundings. "If people here don't need stuff like this, why is it here?"

Quatre turned to face Duo and smiled. "This place is built for pleasure reasons. There are things like art galleries here, museums, things like that that people enjoy seeing or doing. They know they don't need it, but it makes their time spent here a little more lively."

Duo nodded absentmindedly whilst gazing with wide eyes at an edifice down the walkway that was being built. "How do they make buildings since what you think is what will happen to you... Wouldn't it change with the different people who visit?"

Quatre shook his head and glanced down the walkway at the building also. "You see, there are certain jobs here that we couldn't really have a Summerland without." He motioned to the 10 story structure beside them. "This one which we are to visit is where the files of everyone who is to die sometime soon are kept. This is also where the files are transferred to the different levels of Summerland. But the buildings here are formed with specific people's thoughts." He pointed to the people standing around the building. "That's them, and when they all think the same thing about that building - well, they'll be done in a second, you can see it then."

Duo nodded again and watched eagerly. Suddenly, a beam from the sky shot down to shine on the space where the workers were surrounding. None made a move or noise as they formed the image of the building in their minds and slowly, the building began to build itself from the ground where the beam shone.

Quatre gave Duo a confused look when he made a small, strange squeaking noise. Quatre chuckled to himself and continued to watch the building.

In a matter of minutes, the small museum type building was complete. When the remaining light had faded, the workers standing around it smiled proudly at their work and went inside.

"Now they're going to form each room of the inside," Quatre told him. "As their minds work together as one, no one can change what they've done. It's kind of like a copyright; those who visit cannot take and change the framework and structure of the building."

Duo nodded and sighed. "Are we gonna go in, or what?" he asked with a grin, turning toward the building.

Quatre smiled and led the way in and, grasping Duo's arm, transported them to a higher floor. He glanced around and walked briskly toward a desk on the other side of the hallway. As they approached, Duo stared at the joyous expression on Quatre's face in confusion. He turned to see where he was looking and standing behind the desk, was Quatre's own Trowa Barton. Duo beamed at the sight of his old friend and quickened his pace, Quatre doing the same.

Trowa glanced up at them when they came close and smiled his usual small smile. He stepped out from behind the desk to wrap Quatre in a brief embrace. Duo stepped back and turned his eyes to the floor as a sudden wave of sadness hit him like a thousand needles. Tears welled quickly in his eyes as Quatre and Trowa spoke softly to each other - Duo assumed Quatre was informing him of all that had happened up till now.

He swallowed hard. 'You're such an idiot, Duo... You're going to see Heero soon! Get over it!' he silently scolded himself. He inhaled deeply and looked back up at his two friends. He turned crimson when he met their sympathetic eyes gazing back at him. He cleared his throat and took a step backwards. Trowa shook his head sadly and returned to his spot behind the desk.

He turned to a pair of cabinets behind him and jerked one open. Sifting through them with two quickly moving fingers, he finally plucked one out. "Here," he said quietly, handing it to Quatre.

Quatre opened the surprisingly small folder and glanced inside at the files of Heero. He glanced up at Duo quickly and then turned to Trowa, pointing at a line on the page. Trowa nodded.

Duo could hear his blood pounding in his ears. 'Wait... Blood?' Duo suddenly became very confused. How was he able to hear the pounding of his blood if he was dead? He discarded the question and focused on the folder that Trowa and Quatre were looking at. It was then that he realized how quiet it had been for the past few minutes.

He cleared his throat once again, causing Quatre and Trowa to look up. They glanced at each other for a moment before Quatre stepped around the desk to stand in front of Duo. "It's true, Heero wasn't meant to be in the Fifth Level. He was supposed to come here. It does say that he did go there, but it doesn't say why."

Trowa leaned forward on his desk. "I will take you to the Fifth Level," he said. Quatre looked at him in surprise.

"I didn't expect you to want to go with us." Trowa's eyes flicked to Quatre with an almost angered glint in them. It quickly faded.

"I hadn't known you had volunteered, but even if I had, I would still go with you." He turned his gaze once again to Duo.

Quatre glanced down and smiled faintly at that split second when Trowa's eyes had revealed what he thought of his lover going to the Fifth Level alone.

Duo noticed this too and wondered if Heero would act as possessively as Trowa had just now, had they been in Trowa's and Quatre's places. Duo sighed. He missed Heero so much, he didn't know how he would ever find him.

Trowa lightly tapped his finger on the desk once and stood up straight again. As he walked around the desk, he wrapped an arm loosely around Quatre's waist and glanced quickly down at his lover. Quatre's head was bowed slightly and he bit his lower lip nervously. How would it go in the Fifth Level? He wondered if they would ever find Heero, or Shinigami, for that matter.

Duo followed the couple out of the building and onto the sidewalk where Trowa reached out toward Duo so his fingers brushed against his arm and he transported them to an entirely different place.

Duo glanced around at where Trowa had taken them. They appeared to be in a huge field of green grass, but about fifty yards in front of them was a more shadowy place. There, the grass turned yellower and the trees more sickly. Leading them toward the border, Trowa warned Duo in a soft voice, "Changing Levels isn't as easy as you may think. You have to adjust to the new atmosphere and setting." Quatre nodded in agreement.

"How do I adjust to it?" Duo asked, eyeing the new land warily.

Trowa stopped about two feet from the next Level. "Your body will feel odd, and it will be strange to breathe for the first few minutes, but as long as you keep your thoughts on positive things, you will be fine," he said, not turning around.

Duo nodded and glanced at Quatre. He was staring into the grayish sky over the Level ahead, a blank expression on his face.

Trowa sighed and continued on. As soon as Duo stepped onto the new ground, he could feel a difference in the air around him and the feeling of the ground under his feet. The air seemed almost sluggish and inky as he breathed. As they continued to walk, Duo continued to gaze around at the field of yellowing grass around him. The trees still looked ok, but not completely healthy.

After what seemed like days walking in this same land, the three came upon a different place. This was even blearier than the last, with browning grass and bare, scraggly trees. Duo shuddered as he drew in his first breath in the new air. It felt thick as it oozed down into his lungs.

When a few hours had passed, Trowa glanced behind him at Duo and Quatre. Quatre looked fine, but a bit unhappy, but that was to be expected in the Fourth Level. Duo, however, made him stop and turn to face him. Duo's shoulders sagged and his eyelids drooped and he dragged his feet when he walked.

Trowa's alarmed expression caused Duo to straighten up and open his eyes wide. Trowa's green eyes narrowed at him. "You can't fall behind," he said sternly. He turned his face to the sky as thunder rumbled across the bleak, darkness of the day. He sighed and turned back to Duo. "I don't want to have to take you back. You're not thinking positively - The Fourth Level has gotten to you."

Duo looked down shamefully. "I'm sorry, but it's hard. I feel so heavy in this place, and we haven't seen a single soul all this time," he said, peering around him.

Trowa nodded. "Yes, I know, but that's because we're _trying_ to avoid them. They won't make you feel any better, believe me." With that, he turned around again. Duo kept quite alert after that.

xxx

Getting through this Level seemed to take twice as long as the previous one had. And it occured to Duo that it was always thundering, but never lightning or rain. He wondered why, but kept the question to himself. Trowa was kind of scaring him.

The sky remained an ever-lasting dusky color, not day, nor night.

As they reached yet another border, Duo realized that that black, tar-like ground was in fact, water. The black body of water stretched as far as the eye could see to their left and right, as well as directly in front of them. Duo finally noticed the off-white boat that floated in the murky stuff. The thunder rumbled louder than the Fourth Level and the sky almost as dark as the water beneath it.

Duo jumped in surprise as a flicker of lightning flashed brightly in the distance, immediately followed by a boom of thunder. Trowa glanced back at Quatre and Duo again as they prepared to board the boat, simultaneously stepping into the Fifth Level.


	4. The Face of a God

Rewriting. 

Shinigami Chapter 4: The Face of a God

Heero groaned and sat up. He sighed and leaned back, propped up on his elbows. He peered around the dark room. "What...?" he muttered aloud.

A light chuckle answered him. "You are awake, then," the voice said. The voice was female, Heero was positive of it. It was light and musical and reminded Heero of small bells when she laughed. She had a very heavy Scottish accent.

"Obviously," Heero replied sharply, glaring into the darkness.

There was a quiet shuffling as the source of the voice moved. "Mm... Touchy," she said thoughtfully.

Heero struggled to a sitting position. 'I feel so weak,' he thought. He then realized that he was in a bed, covered with two silk sheets. He was stripped down to his boxers and was surprised at how warm it was.

Heero's arm flew up to shield his eyes as the door opened. He slowly brought it back down as a shadow moved into the doorway. He couldn't see her face, but could see what looked like cat ears on her head. "Shinigami-sama will be pleased to hear you are awake." With that, she pulled the door closed and Heero could hear her footsteps fading down the hall.

He sat there for what seemed like hours - though his mental clock told him it had only been minutes. He finally swung his legs out from under the sheets but hesitated to put his feet on the floor in fear of something attacking him. 'This IS Shinigami's doing; I wouldn't be surprised.' But he lowered his bare feet to the floor. It felt smooth and cool under his feet. He sighed and proceeded to rise and carefully make his way around the room.

His foot lightly bumped the leg of something. Upon further inspection, he found it was a simple wooden chair. He assumed the cat-girl was sitting there when he had woken up.

He quickly straightened up and stood still as he heard footsteps in the hall. His arm shot up to shield his eyes once again as the door opened. When he brought his arm down, he saw, not Shinigami as he had expected, but the cat-girl's shadowy figure in the doorway.

"Shinigami-sama has given permission for you to come out and explore a bit," she told him. "I will be your guide - under Shinigami-sama's orders. My name is Jemima," she said. She reached over to the wall beside the door and flipped on a light. Heero squinted and winced as the light hit his eyes. He blinked hard to clear his vision and found that Jemima had left, closing the door behind her.

He glanced around at the bright room and a confused expression crossed his face. It was so beautiful! Like royalty. The bed was much bigger than he thought and a purple canopy was draped over it. The bed was a lighter shade of the purple canopy.

The floor was made of what looked like stone with swirls of dark blues, purples, and reds with specks of gold scattered everywhere. On the high walls were painted majestic mountains in shades of blue and purple with white snow capping the tops and streaming thickly down the sides like white lava.

Heero quirked an eyebrow. "Gee, I wonder what his favorite colors are?" he said sarcastically. He rolled his eyes and turned back to the bed. Shinigami had given him a choice as to what he would wear. His jeans and green tank top lay on one side of the bed while on the other side lay a pair of dark navy slacks with a matching long sleeved shirt. He shrugged to himself and pulled on the slacks provided for him. He put on the shirt and looked into a mirror. The shirt wasn't tight but it wasn't baggy. It seemed like it was made just for him.

He shook his head and opened the door. He stepped out and looked around. Long hallways stretched out on either side of him. "Eh... Jemima?" he called softly. He timidly took a step to his left but stopped short when he heard a door open behind him. He turned around to see a small - maybe 4'4" or 4'5" - cat-like girl standing there, frozen in mid-step, her hand still on the doorknob behind her. She stared at him with large, golden eyes. She had a short cat muzzle with a little black cat nose and long whiskers.

She grinned at Heero and closed the door behind her. Her teeth were also catlike and flashed a brilliant white. Her long, black hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail around her ears. Her hands were human enough, except that she had no nails, but Heero could barely make out small slits on the tips of her fingers. She must've seen him looking at her hands, for she curled her fingers, flexing them, and cat claws emerged from the slits. She wore a green tank top and pink short-shorts. Her feet were exactly like her hands - with retracting claws. She had a long cat tail trailing behind her, twitching every once in a while. And she was completely covered from head to toe with short, black fur.

Heero sighed as he stared at her mismatched clothes. He couldn't help but notice them.

Jemima followed his gaze and burst into laughter. Heero quirked an eyebrow. Jemima sighed and nodded. "Yes, I know I don't match." She looked down at her clothes and twirled in a circle. She then lifted her amused eyes back up to Heero and grinned. "I don't like to match, it's boring," she said, flapping a fuzzy, black hand.

Heero glanced down at his own perfectly matching clothes and turned a light shade of pink.

Jemima tilted her head curiously. 'He really shouldn't blush in a dark blue outfit - it's too obvious,' she thought. "I really don't care what Shinigami-sama thinks of my clothes since he was nice enough to let me choose what to wear. When he sees me dressed funny, he usually just laughs and shakes his head." She chuckled. "So, why don't we get you something to eat?" she suggested and turned around, motioning for him to follow her.

Heero followed obediently. "Why do I need to eat if I'm dead? I _am_ still dead, aren't I?" he asked.

Jemima chuckled again. "Yeah, you're still dead," she confirmed with her heavy accent. "And this place-" She spread her arms, "-is much different from the rest of-" she stopped and her gold eyes met Heero's sapphire ones. Her eyes widened as she realized what she'd gotten herself into. Shinigami had told her not to mention the rest of Summerland to Heero.

Heero arched his eyebrows expectantly. "Different from the rest of what?" he asked, a warning tone in his voice.

At that moment, Jemima's eyes grew so wide that Heero began to wonder if she was really similar to a cat. Then she looked like she either silently hiccupped or she was lightly hit in the chest with something. She smiled nervously. "The rest of Hell, is what I was going to say," she began in a very convincing tone. "But I just thought you might get nervous or something knowing that you're in Hell. It's different here because people get weaker faster and can't get their strength back unless they eat something. In the rest of Hell, the souls don't do anything, so they don't waste energy, so they don't eat anything."

Heero's eyebrows raised in disbelief. He glanced around at his exceptional surroundings. "Hell, huh?" he said.

Jemima blinked, then chuckled. "No, no! You're in Shinigami-sama's castle _in_ Hell," she quickly answered. Heero nodded in approval and she spun around and continued down the hallway. Reaching a pair of huge, thick doors, she grasped the round handle with both hands and pulled. She groaned as she dragged the huge door open enough for Heero to get through.

She panted slightly and motioned for him to follow her into the room. The inside was what appeared to be a small, simple kitchen that made the rest of the house seem rather superfluous. Heero looked around and felt comforted to see an ordinary wood table and chair set in the middle of the kitchen. To his left there was a sink and several cupboards on the walls. To his right there was a long counter along the wall with various utensils strewn across the top. A small stove and oven stood in the corner.

Jemima instantly busied herself with taking things out of cupboards and the refrigerator as Heero slowly walked up to the table and sat down. "So are you Shinigami's 'minion' or something?" he asked as he watched her.

She shrugged. "I don't really consider myself a 'minion' of Shinigami-sama, I'd much rather call myself a companion."

"Aren't there others like you who serve him?" He got up and put a hand on her shoulder as she reached for the dial to turn on the stove. "It's ok, I'm really not that hungry," he told her and snatched an orange from a bowl on the counter. He started to peel it as she answered his last question:

"Nope, I'm the only one here with Shinigami-sama." She pulled out a chair across from Heero and sighed. She reached behind her head and pulled out her ponytail. Her long hair fell over her shoulders and she ran her fingers through it. Not a single tangle met her fingers.

Heero nodded and popped a slice of the orange into his mouth. "Don't you get lonely?" he asked after a moment.

Jemima put her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her intertwined fingers. A thoughtful look crossed her features and she answered, "I suppose it gets lonely around here sometimes. Shingami-sama rarely ever stays in his castle for this long." She sighed somewhat sadly. "He is a very busy guy."

"How long have we been here?" Heero asked as he piled a small stack of orange peel in front of him.

"Well, Shinigami-sama came back with you unconscious in his arms five nights ago. You've been sleeping since then and Shinigami-sama refuses to leave here." She shrugged.

Heero blinked. "Don't hundreds of people die in five days? Who does his work for him?" he asked with growing interest.

Jemima frowned. She couldn't tell him that only a small number of the human population comes to his level and he really hadn't had any deaths to deal with himself in the past few days. So she cleared her throat quietly and came up with an excuse, "Nobody, but once he returns to work, he can gather up those lost souls that merely wander the earth when they're not taken directly here."

Heero nodded again. "That makes sense, I guess," he replied, finishing the fruit.

Jemima smiled sadly. She really didn't want to lie to Heero, but Shinigami had told her that Heero was a special guest who was not to know about the world around him.

She glanced at the small pile in front of Heero and with a wave of her hand, the peel disappeared into thin air. Heero smiled and pushed his chair away from the table. Jemima did the same and led Heero to a back door.

This door was smaller than all the others Heero had seen. It was still made of stone and Jemima only struggled with it a little. The door led into a heavily furnished living room - still in blues and purples. Heero's eyes were drawn to the gigantic fireplace in the far wall across from them. A pair of stone lions roared silently at them from their perch on top of the fireplace. Carvings of weeping angels and forlorn looking children were scattered everywhere.

As Heero continued to gaze around, Jemima went to a pair of doors whose size exceeded all the rest. She turned and waited patiently for Heero to join her. Apparently, there was nothing that had to be done in this room, so Heero went to stand in front of the doors next to Jemima.

When she made no move to open them, Heero glanced down at her. She felt his gaze land on her and did that silent hiccup-looking thing again. She nibbled her bottom lip for a moment before she sighed. "Shinigami-sama is just behind these doors," she said in a low voice. "He had wished to see you ASAP."

She then turned and heaved the left door open. She motioned for Heero to stay outside before going in herself. She stepped up to the throne near the back wall and curtsied. "Shingami-sama, would you like me to show Heero-san in?" she asked in a loud, clear voice which echoed quietly in the huge room.

A smirk appeared on Shinigami's lips. "Yes, Jemima. Thank you for taking care of him," he said and nodded to her.

She half-smiled back and turned to fetch Heero. Heero saw her through the open door and she nodded once to him.

He slipped into the room and glanced around quickly, not wanting to look at Shinigami. He saw a cloak - Shinigami's cloak hanging on a hook on the wall. His eyes widened as he realized that Shinigami was actually visible. His eyes snapped to the throne in the middle of the room. He froze immediately.

Shinigami sat comfortably in his throne, his right leg draped over the arm and his left on the floor next to it. His left arm rested on the other arm, his chin on his thumb, his forefinger extended against his cheek. His other fingers were curled over his smirking lips. His other hand held a fancy riding crop, tapping it lightly against his right boot. He wore a loose, white poet's shirt (1) which revealed more than it hid and tight black breeches over black boots. The rider's crop had a large sapphire mounted on the top. Heero assumed that he just had it for fun, not really riding.

Heero's eyes lifted to Shinigami's face. He could've burst into tears at this god's feet. Shinigami's smirk turned into a fierce, fanged grin. His violet eyes flashed at Heero as he remained frozen on the spot.

And finally, Heero's eyes trailed down Shinigami's long, chestnut braid that brushed the floor beside the throne.

XXXXX

1: The "poet's shirt" is something I got from my sister. Shinigami is dressed like Jareth in the movie Labyrinth. The poet's shirt is merely what we call this loose, open shirt. (BTW, it's tucked into his breeches).


	5. Lost Hope

Rewriting. 

Shinigami Chapter 5: Lost Hope

Heero stared in disbelief at the beautiful face of his lover. He felt an icy chill shoot up his spine and he shuddered. Shinigami tilted his head curiously and his eyes sparkled.

Heero swallowed hard. This wasn't his Duo, his Duo had been there, defending him when Shinigami had taken him. An image of a cloaked Shinigami smiling ever so gently at him came to mind.

A sudden dread washed over him and he felt scared - for the first time in his life (and afterlife) Heero Yuy was scared. All other thoughts were pushed from his mind and one goal replaced them all:

'I have to get out of here.'

This thought tumbled around Heero's mind and his breath caught in his throat. 'Jemima closed the door!' he thought. 'It's so big! She could barely get it open enough for me and she's used to these doors! How will I get it open quickly enough to escape?'

Shinigami patiently waited for Heero to do something - move, speak... attempt escape. He tapped the riding crop against the toe of his boot as he watched the panicked boy in front of him.

But then another thought made itself known in Heero's mind, 'This is _his_ castle; he'll probably already be in my room by the time I get there. There _is_ no escaping him.'

Shinigami immediately noticed the look of defeat come across Heero's face. Heero relaxed in the same defeated gesture. His gaze slowly dropped to the floor. He hunched his shoulders and closed his eyes tight. He clenched his teeth and thought:

'I wish Duo was here...'

He lifted his eyes back up to Shinigami. His smirk gone, he actually looked concerned. He seemed to realize what Heero's thoughts were and his expression turned cold. He blinked in surprise as Heero's eyes - lifeless and defeated, suddenly flared to life. He sat up straight as Heero glared venemously at him.

Heero then whirled around and raced for the door. Shinigami sprang up from his throne and watched as Heero sprinted into the next room after heaving the door open. Jemima opened an eye from her comfortable kitty position - all curled up on the chair, and watched Heero as he flew past and burst into the kitchen and out of sight. She sighed and shook her head in pity. And curling into a tighter ball, she fell asleep again.

Heero raced through the halls he thought he'd come through before in hope of getting back to his room whether Shinigami was there waiting for him or not. He wondered what he'd do if Shinigami _was_ there. Should he get out and keep going until he found a way out of the castle? But then he'd be in Hell. He'd gotten this far, so he figured he'd just stay in his room. Staying with Shinigami just had to be better than Hell.

He slowed to a walk and turned into the last familiar hallway to his room. He got to his door and shoved it open. Once inside he looked around for Shinigami. 'Not here...' he thought. He turned to close the door and jumped back when he almost crashed into said god.

He backed up a few more steps and stopped as Shinigami closed the door behind him. In his arms slept a very small black cat. His open poet's shirt concealed more of his chest when he was standing up. He smiled that gentle smile at Heero who narrowed his eyes coldly. Shinigami stroked the cat absentmindedly and sighed.

"Why am I not surprised to see _you_ here?" Heero asked sarcastically.

"Why do you bother running away? This _is_ my castle, you know," Shinigami replied, taking a slow step into the room.

Heero nodded. "Yes, but I really don't have anything to lose by trying."

Shinigami smiled. "I like the way you think, Heero," he said.

While Shinigami came into the room and made himself comfortable on the bed, Heero was trying to sort out his mixed emotions. Shinigami made him feel very welcome here and he looked like a Duo clone, so Heero was attracted to his beauty. The open poet's shirt didn't help.

But on the other hand, Heero loathed Shinigami for taking him from Duo. Shinigami wasn't really a bad person/god, but Heero didn't know what to think of him.

Heero's attention was suddenly drawn to the cat in Shinigami's arms as it opened large, gold eyes. He tilted his head and stared hard at the tiny feline. Shinigami nodded as though answering a question. "Yes, this is Jemima - in her feline form," he said. "She recognizes you from when she met you before but she doesn't know she met you. When she goes to sleep, she turns into a cat but remembers nothing of being so when she awakens and goes back to normal."

Jemima meowed and jumped out of Shinigami's arms. Ears pricked and eyes wide, she trotted over to Heero and began purring loudly. She jumped into his lap and rubbed against his arms, wanting to be petted. Heero lightly began scratching her ears and she settled down.

Shinigami smiled. "She knows she recognizes you and that you are her friend, and now she knows why," he said softly. "You seem to like animals, Heero. What's your favorite?" He crossed his legs and rested his chin on his palm. His eyes never left Heero's.

Heero studied him for a moment then shrugged. "I don't know... Panthers, I guess. I like all big cats," he answered quietly as he listened to Jemima's rhythmic purring.

Shinigami nodded. "Yes, I like the big felines too, I also love horses." He tilted his head slightly to move his bangs to one side. "Do you sing, Heero?"

Heero's breath caught in his throat as memories of Duo singing to him late at night flashed into his mind. He looked down at Jemima. "I know some songs but I don't sing them," he replied. He felt tears stinging his eyes. 'I miss Duo...' he thought.

"Have you ever tried?" Shinigami asked him.

Heero shook his head. "I don't sing at all."

Shinigami tsked. "That's a pity, I imagine that you would have a beautiful singing voice." He fiddled with the small buttons on his shirt absentmindedly.

Heero swallowed hard. Nope. That poet's shirt definitely wasn't helping.

"Do you like flowers, Heero?" Shinigami inquired.

Heero's heart pounded. Shinigami seemed to know right where it hurt. An image of the three roses Duo had given him came to mind. 'I really wish he'd stop trying to make small talk and leave,' Heero thought. He nodded. "Yes, I like some kinds."

Shinigami arched an eyebrow. "Like this one?" He pointed to the bedside table where a large purple rose suddenly appeared in a tall, clear vase. Heero stood up, nearly dumping Jemima onto the floor. She mewed in protest and scampered away to leap into Shinigami's lap.

Heero examined the rose as he approached it. This was an exact replica of the rose Duo had given him on earth.

A confused expression came across Shinigami's face as he heard a small, puppy-like whine come from Heero. Heero held his head in his hands and his teeth were clenched as he stood before the rose. His knees buckled and he collapsed to the floor. An angered cry escaped from his throat as he leaned forward and put his head on his knees.

Meanwhile, Shinigami hadn't moved and sat watching Heero with a solemn expresson.

Heero pushed himself up to a sitting position with his legs folded under him. He turned to one side and extended his legs, pushing himself so his back was against the bed. He sighed and turned his head to look at Shinigami again. "Why do you do this?" he asked quietly.

Shinigami's eyebrows lifted slightly. "Why do I do what?" he inquired in a tone that indicated he didn't really expect an answer. His fingers lightly brushed along Jemima's back as he watched Heero. One corner of his mouth turned up into a smirk. "Am I not making you comfortable here?" he asked. His eyes danced.

Heero stared helplessly into those dancing, amethyst eyes. "Why am I here, Shinigami? Of what value am I to you?"

Shinigami stood up, holding Jemima in his arms. "More than you know." He grinned and came to kneel next to Heero. Heero glared at him.

"I'm not stupid, Shinigami," Heero stated. "I admit that I don't know exactly what you're planning to do with me, but I can take a hint." He managed to keep down a shudder of disgust. 'Wow, I think I've managed to attract just about everything except the living - not counting Relena,' Heero thought bitterly.

Shinigami smirked. "I know you're not stupid, but I never assumed you were. I knew you could figure it out all by yourself, which is why I never lifted a finger to help you." He brushed Heero's cheek lightly with the back of his finger.

Heero flinched and drew back, away from Shinigami. 'I can't do anything,' Heero realized on seeing the grin on Shinigami's face grow wider. 'He's a god, there's nothing I can do to make him stop.' Once again, the look of defeat crossed Heero's features.

Shinigami's grin never faltered as he studied Heero's face. "You see, I knew you were smart," he said quietly and stood up. "I'll come back later." He called to Jemima who had gone to lay on the bed after Shinigami had gotten up, and left with her.

Heero sighed and held his head in his hands. He refused to look back up at that rose which stood on his bedside table. And he soon fell asleep, sitting against his bed.

xxx

Heero woke to the sound of his heavy bedroom door creaking as it was heaved open. He snapped his head up to find Jemima standing in the doorway. She smiled warmly at him and closed the door behind her.

"Hi, Heero," she said gently. "Are you alright?"

Heero got up and sat on the bed. He sighed. "A god is hitting on me and there's absolutely nothing I can do about it, said god likes to torture me, and there is no way for me to ever get out of here or see Duo again. Life's just peachy," he retorted.

Jemima scoffed. "That's not true!" she said. "Life isn't that bad, afterlife is."

Heero chuckled and shook his head.

"Yeah, I know - that was bad," she said, flapping a hand.

Heero arched an eyebrow and nodded. "Yes it was, but thanks for trying."

Jemima clapped Heero on the shoulder and grinned broadly. Her hand dropped off and her smile faded. Her expression made it look like she was going to cry. Heero tilted his head in confusion. Jemima sat down on the bed next to Heero and sighed. "Heero," she said seriously. "I think you should know that Shinigami-sama is not a bad guy. He's always so lonely. I told him so once and I think that was when he began to look for - well, a lover." She paused. "And then he found you. I was so glad for him until I found out that he had to take you from Duo. But mind you, he had no idea that he and Duo shared the same physical body. But he figured that since Duo loved you, that was why he was attracted to you. It seemed like he and Duo were alike in more than one way." She sighed. "I think he'd hoped that if you could love Duo Maxwell, that you could love him as well." She half-smiled at him. "It seems he was wrong. But he wanted so much to be happy and be loved that he was willing to take you from your one true love." Sudden tears sprang to her eyes and streamed down her black, fuzzy cheeks. "And somehow, I think that the sayings about everyone having their own true love is wrong. I don't think Shinigami-sama was meant to have anyone. He's never known love, and he wasn't meant to." Her tears flowed freely now and the front of her shirt was getting wet.

Heero put an arm around her shoulders in a comforting gesture and she burst into sobs against his shirt. Heero rubbed her back soothingly and thought about earlier. Shinigami had touched his cheek and he'd flinched and shied away. 'Maybe he really does believe that we should be together,' he thought. 'He doesn't understand what it's like to be torn away from his lover. He's never had the chance.' Heero felt sorry for this lonely death god, but at the same time, he thought that he deserved to be alone. 'But he hasn't really done anything unforgivable without a good reason.'

Jemima's tears had quieted and she sat up. She looked up into Heero's sad sapphire eyes. "You can't let Duo go, can you?" she asked, her musical voice breaking.

Heero didn't reply. He supposed he could, but it would take another lifetime to get over him and get used to Shinigami. But he could never completely get over Duo or truly love Shinigami. "He'll never let me go, will he?" he asked instead.

Jemima closed her eyes and shook her head. "I'm afraid not."

Heero sighed. "I didn't think so."

At that moment, Shinigami opened the door and stepped inside. Jemima hurriedly stood and curtsied before rushing out the door. She pulled it shut behind her.

Shinigami crossed his arms across his chest and watched Heero, who avoided meeting his eyes. "So Heero," he said in a light tone. "Feeling better?" He strode to the bed and leaned against one of the canopy poles.

Heero hesitated before answering quietly, "Yes."

Shinigami smiled and moved in front of Heero. Heero still would not meet Shinigami's eyes.

In one swift movement, Shinigami was kneeling over Heero and had caught his lips in a passionate kiss.

Right then, Heero lost all hope of escaping or being rescued and closing his eyes, he kissed Shinigami back.


	6. El Dorado

Rewriting.

Warnings: Song lyrics are in italics.

Shinigami Chapter 6: El Dorado

Duo followed Trowa and Quatre to the edge of Level 4 and stepped into the boat as Trowa held it steady for them. Duo gasped and braced himself on the side of the boat. 'I can't breathe!' He coughed and inhaled slowly. It felt like he was trying to breathe in a pit of tar. He sat down and leaned against the side of the boat. Trowa glanced at him once before jumping into the boat, pushing it into the water.

Duo closed his eyes tight and thought about when he and Heero were back on earth. Everything was perfect then. He was with his love, alone and without distractions. He sighed. It was easier to breathe now. He opened his eyes and gaped at what he saw. Quatre and Trowa were both surrounded by colorful auras. Quatre's was a light, aqua green color while Trowa's was a beautiful pine green.

He glanced down at himself and smiled when he saw he was surrounded by his own very purple aura. His was duller than the other two. "What's that for?" he asked, outlining Trowa's figure to indicate that he meant their auras.

"They are here because they are our only source of light and protection. Ours glow brighter than yours because we've been here before and we've developed something of an immunity to this place and its foul intentions." Trowa moved to the front of the boat, ducking under the open sail.

The boat moved slowly. The liquid they were in didn't feel like water; it was thicker. Duo peered over the edge and watched the thick liquid flowing sluggishly around the boat. "Y'know, this doesn't really look like water." Duo thought for a moment. "It feels more like-"

"Blood," Trowa cut in. He nodded. "Yes, I know." He turned around and looked at Duo. "It feels like such for good reason." Duo blinked at him and Trowa turned back around.

Duo turned his gaze back to the black stuff. "Is..." He swallowed hard. "Is it r-really blood?" he asked uneasily. He turned to Quatre, who nodded solemnly. Duo made a surprised and disgusted face and turned to look at it once again. "There's so much," he said quietly.

He sighed and rose to walk to the front of the boat with Trowa.

Days passed. No one spoke more than five words to each other at a time.

xxx

After about three days - according to Trowa - passed, the trio arrived at a rocky, black land. Tall, rugged mountains were everywhere. On the ground grew nothing, only rocks and dirt met their feet. Leaving the boat on the shore, they started toward the intimidating mountains.

Trowa's aura flared brighter for a split second and returned to normal. Quatre's did the same. Duo was about to ask what it was when off to his left, in the mountains somewhere, a flash of light and an explosion of flames made him yelp and jump sideways. The flames leaped higher, licked the sky and died down again to darkness. The ground rumbled under their feet. It stopped and the ground seemed to hiss angrily. That also stopped.

"What was that!" Duo cried. Neither of his companions had seemed to notice. Trowa's eyes trailed along the mountains until they fell upon the area where the explosion had occurred.

"Nevermind that - ignore them," he told Duo, picking up his pace a bit.

Duo's jaw dropped. "Ignore them! How am I supposed to ignore explosions, earthquakes, and the ground hissing?" he demanded. This was completely freaking him out.

Trowa sighed. "First of all, they aren't earthquakes - the ground merely shook a bit as an aftermath of the so-called explosion. Secondly, the ground isn't hissing. It's coming from the spot where the explosion was."

"So-called explosion? What's that supposed to mean? It was an explosion, wasn't it?"

Trowa sighed again. "Not really. They could be described as such, I suppose, but that's not really what they are. Now if you don't mind, we're nearly there, so please be respectful enough to be quiet."

Duo didn't object. Trowa was kinda scary. Instead, he peered around Trowa to see where they nearly were. Before them towered what appeared to be an elevator. With one huge, wood platform and side rails, the elevator lifted to the top of a plateau. Duo's eyes trailed up to the top. "Are we going up there?" he whispered to Trowa.

He nodded as they approached the abandoned elevator. "They built this because there is no other way of getting to the top." He opened the door and nodded to Duo and Quatre to go in. Getting in himself and latching the door, the elevator lurched up before steadying and proceeding slowly up to the plateau. No ropes or cords were attached to the chute, it just moved by itself. Duo peered over the edge at their boat. It's off-white color made it seem as though it were glowing in the dark land. He sighed and turned to look at the mountain. Not even halfway up.

Out of sheer boredom, Duo began to hum. Nonchalantly at first, but it soon changed to a song he liked to sing to Heero. Quatre looked up at Trowa sadly. He felt so bad for Duo. Trowa nodded and put an arm around his shoulders in understanding.

The slow hum of the song seemed longing and forlorn. Duo closed his eyes and swayed to the beat of the slow song.

The elevator groaned and slowed to a stop. Duo stopped humming and opened his eyes. Trowa opened the door and watched Duo's face as he stepped off. He looked so emotionless... so numb.

Duo followed Trowa and Quatre into the darkness.

For as long as they walked, Duo felt as though years were passing. On asking Trowa about it, he found it had been four days. Duo asked if the plateau ever ended. He was surprised when he got this reply:

"There is no longer a plateau. This is the ground. We never came off of that plateau, it is now the ground of the Fifth Level." Trowa glanced at the confused look on Duo's face. "I mean, there is no descending from the plateau, it basically just formed another floor above where we came ashore." Duo looked down. "Does that make more sense?" Trowa asked him.

Duo nodded. "How much longer do you think it'll take?" he asked.

Trowa shrugged. "I'm not sure. There's a rumor going around that Shinigami has a castle. We have no idea how that rumor started since only about two percent of the souls that are originally brought here ever get to Summerland. But anyway, it says that his castle is located deep within the heart of the Fifth Level. This would be considered the heart," he said, spreading his arms. "It is also rumored that he goes there when he doesn't have work to do. Or if he just doesn't want to leave." He shrugged.

"Speaking of which," Duo began. "Why haven't we seen anyone? I know you said you just avoided them in the other Levels but this seems different somehow." He gazed around into the darkness.

Trowa sighed. "They're everywhere. They're all around us, even as we speak. This is why we have these light auras - They're terribly afraid of light and won't come near us. When you fell behind during the Fourth Level, had you needed an aura for protection, it would have dimmed considerably and they would have attacked you," Trowa muttered, peering around.

"Attacked?" Duo whispered fiercely.

Trowa nodded. "Without hesitation. But they wouldn't really be touching you physically, they use their minds to make it seem like they are. So don't fall behind and don't think pessimistically," he warned.

Duo nodded quickly.

After a few minutes of silence, Duo once again began to hum. Trowa and Quatre listened with interest as Duo launched into song.

_"Kanashimi no uta o kuchizusamu toki / hito wa dare demo tabibito ni naru / mienai ito o tadori haruka na kimi no moto e / shinji au kokoro wa dare ni mo makenai kara / ai wa shinanai yume wa kienai / kanashimi koete mezase El Dorado / tooku ni kirameku hoshi ga kimi nara / boku wa yozora o wataru kaze ni naru / setsunaku afuretekuru namida ga shitte iru / kizutsuita kokoro o iyaseru sono basho o / ai wa shinanai yume wa kienai / namida o fuite mezase El Dorado / La, la, la, la, la, la, la... kimi o motomete / La, la, la, la, la, la, la... tooi El Dorado / ai ga michiru basho sore ga El Dorado / futatsu no kokoro ga hitotsu ni naru yo / osanai ano hi ni haha ni dakarete / itsumo kiite ita uta ga natsukashii / kimi ni aitai ima sugu aitai / tsunoru omoi ga daichi o hashiru / dakara ai wa shinanai yume wa kienai / kanashimi koete mezase El Dorado / La, la, la, la, la, la, la... kimi o motomete / La, la, la, la, la, la, la... tooi El Dorado"_

xxx

One long week passed by in this bleak place. Until one day...

Trowa, Quatre, and Duo all stopped. "Woah..." Duo murmured. They all stared in awe at the magnificent castle that stood about three miles away.

XXXXX

The English translation for El Dorado goes something like this:

You are my star in the sky / Shining with a far-off light / I will be the wind that blows / O'er the sea and all through the night / So many times I have cried bitter tears / I know too well the heartbreak and pain / Take me to the land where my soul / United with you is made whole again / Love and hope will never die / Dreams of you are by my side / Cry no more, dry all your tears / I'll be there - El Dorado / A whisper of a lullaby / Singing sadly 'cross the sea / Anyone who hears the song / Soon turns into a wanderer / Invisible to us now is our fate / Which ties you to me so faraway / I believe in your love promised me / My heart will never lose you again / Love and hope will never die / Dreams of you are by my side / Gone with sadness, set the course / For my goal - El Dorado / La, la, la, la, la, la, la... searching for you ev'rywhere / La, la, la, la, la, la, la... faraway El Dorado / Paradise forevermore / That is my El Dorado / To the land of perfect love / There our hearts can become one / I remember as a child / In my mother's arms I slept / She sang to me of journeys far / I can still hear her voice in the wind / I need you, I need your love / How could I betray my heart/ Faith in you is all I have / Dreaming of El Dorado / Believing / Love and hope will never die / Dreams of you are by my side / Gone with sadness, set the course / For my goal - El Dorado / La, la, la, la, la, la, la... searching for you ev'rywhere / La, la, la, la, la, la, la... faraway El Dorado


	7. Green

Rewriting. 

Shinigami Chapter 7: Green

Heero opened his eyes. 'Singing?' he wondered as he sat up in bed. He listened. There was nothing to be heard now.

"What's the matter, Heero?" Shinigami asked from a chair next to Heero's bed.

Heero jumped. "You startled me," he said with a half-smile. He felt Shinigami sit down on the bed next to him. "I thought I heard something - someone singing. The song sounded familiar, but I can't put my finger on it." He shrugged.

Shinigami's eyes narrowed, though Heero couldn't see it in the dark room. "You were probably just dreaming," he said softly, stroking Heero's arm with his fingertips.

Heero nodded. "Yeah, probably. But I feel like I should know that song." He crossed his legs Indian style and rested his elbows on his knees. "Oh well, I can't really remember the tune or the words, anyway."

Shinigami smiled gently and continued to run his fingers up and down Heero's arm. "Think you can get back to sleep?"

Heero shook his head. "No, I'm not tired."

"Mm..." Shinigami leaned closer to Heero and kissed his cheek softly. He looked into Heero's eyes, glowing a catlike neon green in the dark. He grinned to himself. Heero was still under his control.

Although Heero wouldn't be able to see it if he looked into a mirror in the dark, his eyes - not just the irises, but the whole - glowed that strange green. Everyone else could see them, should anybody besides Shinigami and Jemima look. This meant that Heero was brainwashed. Completely, utterly, and in all other ways under Shinigami's control.

Shinigami stood up and stepped to the side so Heero could get out of bed. He still slept in boxers and Shinigami could see fairly well in the dark - Considering that he _is_ the Death God. He grinned as he quickly looked Heero over. He cocked his head as a command for Heero to follow him, which he obviously obeyed. He led him to a chair in a corner of the room near the door. Heero leaned against the wall and covered a yawn with his hand.

Shinigami picked up a small stack of clothes for Heero to wear and handed them to him. Heero fingered the cloth and smiled softly at Shinigami. The god had really been very kind to him.

Shinigami raised his hand slowly and cupped Heero's cheek. He took a small step forward and gently pressed his lips to Heero's. He brought his other hand up to hold Heero's face in his hands. Then he quickly closed the space between their bodies and kissed him harder. Heero didn't seem surprised, but dropped his hands to his sides, still gripping the clothing tightly in his fists.

Shinigami pressed Heero harder to the wall. Heero was shaking slightly as the god broke their kiss and began to kiss his neck softly. Heero inhaled sharply through gritted teeth and started to pant quietly as Shinigami ground his hips against Heero's. His fisted hands shook from gripping the cloth so hard.

Shinigami carressed Heero's bare sides with his hands now and Heero panted faster. He thought his knees were going to give out. The god tenderly kissed one area just under Heero's ear.

But suddenly, Shinigami froze, his eyes slitted, he peered around the room and listened for any noises besides Heero's now quieter panting. He stood up straight and moved away from Heero a little bit. His eyes scanned the room and he said in a soft, dangerous tone, "Someone's coming."

His eyes flicked back to Heero's and lost their fire for a minute. He kissed Heero softly on the cheek. "I'm sorry..." And with that, he spun away from him and strode out and into the hall, leaving Heero in complete disarray.

Shinigami alerted Jemima to keep an eye outside the front door and went back to Heero's room. Heero had dressed in the black slacks and deep red sweater and was sitting on the floor at the foot of his bed, his ankles crossed, his knees drawn up to his chest, his elbows on his knees, and his chin resting on his crossed arms. His half closed eyes stared at the floor as he sat there deep in thought. His calm gaze lifted to Shinigami as he opened the door and flipped on a light.

He gave Heero a slightly confused look on seeing his strangely emotionless eyes. Heero sighed slowly. Shinigami came and kneeled next to him. Without moving his head, Heero turned his gaze to him.

Just as Shinigami opened his mouth to say something, Jemima peeked into the room around the open door. He looked at her curiously as she stepped in and bowed - she'd started doing that lately. Hurrying over to him, she whispered quickly into his ear, "The visitors have arrived. Two are agents from Summerland - Trowa Barton and Quatre Winner, the third is..." She swallowed. "Duo Maxwell."

Shinigami's eyes once again narrowed to slits. He nodded a dismissal to Jemima. She bowed and scurried out. He turned back to Heero, who hadn't looked away. He met Heero's unwavering stare and said, "Stay here." He stood up and went to stand before the wall that Heero was facing. Heero watched as he threw up his arms and turned the entire wall into a giant mirror. He then left, turning off the lights as he went.

Heero was hardly bothered. Shinigami did mysterious things at random all the time. He sighed and merely stared at himself in the dark mirror.

Shinigami strode towards the front hall in a sharklike, silent-but-deadly manner. He slunk, unnoticed into the room where Jemima had taken the three guests. Jemima turned around and jumped when she saw Shinigami. She bowed hastily as the other three turned to face the Death God. Duo scowled and glared daggers at him. Quatre and Trowa moved to either side of Duo - Whether for support or to keep him from futilely lashing out at him, should the situation come up, he didn't know.

Duo clenched his fists and looked Shinigami up and down. He was wearing a dark green poet's shirt - though he buttoned it up halfway this time - and a pair of greenish-slate colored breeches. He had light gray gloves on and his feet were bare. He crossed his arms over his chest.

He stared coolly at them and sighed quietly. "I should have known you would come," he said in a bored voice, indicating that he really didn't care since there was nothing they could do anyway.

Duo growled deep in his chest and Quatre and Trowa exchanged glances.

Looking to Jemima he said, "Take these gentlemen to the Mirror Room." He then used a power that he rarely ever called upon for communication - he sent Jemima a picture in her head, showing her the room he had created in front of Heero's. After all, he could change his castle any way he wanted to.

Jemima nodded and bowed as Shinigami left the room. He was waiting for them when they arrived in the "Mirror Room". He stood calmly next to a curtain. He had first needed to tell Heero that he would be meeting the visitors soon.

Duo, Quatre, and Trowa filed into the small room and stood before the curtain. The room was a dark purple and had no furniture, excess doors, or anything other than the curtain and a few lights on the walls.

Jemima closed the door behind Trowa and went to stand beside Shinigami. "This is the Mirror Room," he began. "And as you have noticed, there are no mirrors. But the other side of this wall-" He tapped the curtain. "Is one big mirror. Let me show you where I'm going with this." He flipped off the lights so the room was pitch black. He then pulled a rope and the curtains flung to either side.

A chill ran up each of the guest's spines at what they saw. A single pair of eerie, glowing, neon green eyes stared unblinkingly into the room. Heero hadn't moved from his spot on the floor since Shinigami had been there.

The hair on the back of their necks stood on end from the creepy sight. The only thing visible in this darkness seemed unreal and mystifying. They wanted to tear their gaze away from those eyes, but it had them hypnotized. That awful, unwavering, green stare terrified them - paralyzing them with fear.

'What is that?'

The question that spun in their thoughts made their hearts race.

Shinigami's voice brought them back to reality, "I shall return shortly." They heard him leave, but nothing could draw their attention away from those eerie eyes and whatever they belonged to.

Duo yelped when the light in the other room came on and the mysterious being was revealed with perfectly normal, very sapphire eyes. "Heero..." he whispered as he saw Shinigami walk into the room and kneel next to Heero. They couldn't hear his words as he spoke to Heero, but the boy finally turned away from the mirror and faced Shinigami.

The two exchanged words for a moment and Heero got up. Duo stared at his clothing and wondered why he wasn't wearing his normal clothes. Then Shinigami leaned forward and kissed Heero on the cheek, took his hand and led him out of the room.

Duo thought he was going to explode when Heero first did nothing when Shinigami kissed him, and also when he wrapped his fingers around Shinigami's hand. He turned to Jemima, who watched him intently.

Her accent came on thickly as she spoke in a low, dangerous tone, "If you know what's good for you _and_ Heero-kun, you will act as relatives or friends - depending on which Shinigami-sama introduces you as. Heero-kun will not recognize any of you. As far as he knows, he's always lived a happy life with Shinigami-sama." Her eyes were unusually cold as she watched them.

"In short, he's been brainwashed," Trowa said succinctly, giving her an equally cold look.

She tilted her head and grinned menacingly. "That would be an understatement, but yes. To put it very mildly, he has."

Shinigami opened the door, a broad grin spread across his face and his eyes narrowed. "Follow me," he hissed and walked briskly into the hall. Jemima followed first, then Duo. The other two brought up the rear.

He led them to the large room leading into his throne room. Heero stood at the fireplace, looking up at the stone lions but turned when he heard them come in. He smiled slightly at Shinigami who nodded to him. Jemima waved and smiled cheerily at him.

Heero's smile disappeared as he watched the other three come into the room. Shinigami stood next to him and put an arm around his shoulders. "Heero, I'd like you to meet a few friends of mine. Duo Maxwell, Quatre Winner, and Trowa Barton," he said, motioning to each in turn.

Duo smiled sadly, but kept his distance despite his desire to hold Heero again. Quatre and Trowa nodded solemnly.

Heero quirked an eyebrow at their serious moods.

Duo cleared his throat. "So, um, Heero..." he began. Heero's gaze shifted to him. Quatre and Trowa hoped that Duo remembered Jemima's warning - "If you know what's best for you _and_ Heero-kun..." She had included Heero and they hoped he didn't do anything rash.

He nervously cleared his throat again. "Do you live here with Shinigami?"

Heero smiled a bit at the mention of the god. "Yes, I do. It's wonderful to live here."

Shinigami smirked.

Duo felt as though he was going to be sick, but forced himself to keep calm. "How long have you lived here?" he asked, making his voice as casual as possible.

Heero kept his small smile and looked at Shinigami inquiringly. "I don't remember how long it's been, to tell you the truth." Shinigami grinned.

Duo blurted the next question, "Where did you live before you came here?" He narrowed his eyes at Shinigami. Quatre and Trowa suddenly realized what Duo was doing - he was trying to make Heero see that he had not lived happily with Shinigami for so long that he couldn't remember. Quatre shot a warning look at Duo. He ignored it.

Heero blinked at Duo. Shinigami seemed to understand what Duo was doing as well. "Why do you ask?" he cut in before Heero could attempt an answer - not like he really could anyway. He glared threateningly at Duo, who glared back.

"Just curious," he muttered.

Heero decided to remain oblivious to the mild flurry playing out before him and turned his head away.

Trowa stepped forward. "Shinigami, may we have a word with you?" The Death God's eyes flicked to Trowa's and he smiled coldly.

"Yes, of course." He strode into his throne room, Trowa, Quatre, and Duo at his heels. He closed the gigantic doors behind them with ease and he took off his gloves and held them in his left hand. He spun around to glare at them venemously. "Why have you come here?" he hissed.

Duo seethed and glared back. "Why did you take Heero?" he asked in an equally bitter tone.

Shinigami tilted his head in a jerky movement. He suddenly reminded Duo of a snake... His lips were slightly parted - like he was debating on whether or not to answer - and his eyes burned with hate for the three boys standing before him. He didn't answer, but he sighed slowly and pressed his lips together as though saying that they would never get a reply out of him. He stared menacingly into Duo's eyes.

The silence wore on and Duo began to feel uncomfortable under Shinigami's unwavering gaze. It was like he was trying to see if he could burn a hole through his head or something.

Trowa sighed. "Look, Shinigami, Duo deserves an explanation." Shinigami turned his unblinking, violet eyes to Trowa. "You can't avoid us forever, and you have to return Heero to Summ-"

_SLAP_

Shinigami glared viciously at Trowa and his lip curled in disgust. He lowered his hand back down to his side. "You wish," he snarled and walked briskly out of the room.

Quatre squeaked as blood began to seep out of the three scratches on Trowa's cheek from the god's sharp nails when he had backhanded him. Trowa hadn't lifted his head, but stared at the floor. On hearing Quatre's quiet words of concern, he lifted his gaze and brought his hand up to his bleeding cheek and looked at the smear of blood on his fingertips.

Duo started shaking in fury. He clenched his fists and he scowled at the closed door. In a huff, he stormed after Shinigami, but Jemima was the only one in the room. She stared calmly at him. "Where is he?" Duo demanded.

Jemima flicked her hair behind her shoulder and replied, "Shinigami-sama took Heero-kun to his quarters." She smirked as Duo choked and stared at her with wide eyes. "I am to show you to your own rooms, should you be staying. If you are not, then I will show you out."

Duo shook his head quickly. "No, we're staying." Quatre and Trowa came into the room as he said this.

"What's going on, Duo?" Quatre asked, stepping forward. He looked from Jemima to Duo expectantly.

Jemima peered behind Quatre where Trowa stood. She looked back at the others and said, "We'll be right back." She pointed to Trowa. "You." He looked up at her and she beckoned him with her finger. He hesitated but followed her into the next room.

Quatre turned back to Duo after watching Trowa leave. "Well?"

Duo sighed. "I just told her that we would be staying - but Shinigami offered us the oppertunity first!" he said quickly.

Quatre blinked at him. "You told her we were staying?" He nodded. "Well, I suppose that's not going to do any harm... But Duo-" He came up close to his face. "Don't expect anything from our staying a little longer. It is likely that Heero will not remember, no matter what. Unless Shinigami takes that spell off of him, he will not remember you, me, or anything else. And as a warning - Shinigami cannot die, and even if he could, his spell would probably remain on Heero. Do not underestimate him."

A pained look crossed Duo's face and he looked away. Quatre knew this had hurt him, but it was a better option than attempting to do things his way and failing miserably.

But suddenly, Duo's eyes lit up. He turned to Quatre again. "If he doesn't remember me, then we're just going to have to replace his lost memories with new ones! He can remember right now, even though he is under Shinigami's spell."

Quatre sighed. "Duo, please don't try anything - at least not right now. Shinigami is very powerful and it is possible that he can just erase those memories as well." Duo looked away once again. "I know this must be hard, Duo, but keep in mind that Shinigami isn't all bad - He's lonely, but not bad."

Duo flinched and muttered, "Bastard," under his breath.

A moment later, Trowa and Jemima came back in. Trowa's cuts had been doctored and had stopped bleeding. The Scottish cat-girl then motioned for them all to follow her and she led them each to their rooms.

As she left each in their rooms, she mentioned that they were connected by another door. Trowa went into Quatre's room and sat with him in silence. Duo paced his room, running ideas through his head on ways to make Heero remember his life and memories with him. But he always found a way that Shinigami could foil his attempts.

Trying to force Heero to remember or trying to kill Shinigami were obviously not options. Try to create new memories with Heero to make him realize where his love truly lies - Shinigami could erase those memories. Try to get Shinigami to see what he had done and how horrible it was - Shinigami would deny it and probably give all these reasons of why Heero should stay with him.

Plan after plan raced through his thoughts but obvious ways to ruin them came up almost immediately. He did this for hours...

xxx

After Shinigami had left his throne room, he had asked Heero to come with him. He took Heero to his room as he had told Jemima, and talked with him for a while. He had needed Heero to come with him so the other three wouldn't get to him while he thought up some way he could make his spell stronger so that if they attempted anything, it would fail.

When he could think of nothing, he desperately wanted to stay with Heero until he came up with something. He finally asked if Heero would stay with him that night. Though surprised, Heero had agreed.

xxx

Heero sat down on Shinigami's bed as he went and flipped off the lights. He stripped down to his boxers and pulled back the comforter and slipped in the bed. He felt Shinigami get in on the other side after a moment. Shinigami grinned and took Heero by the waist and pulled him towards the middle with him. He wrapped his arms around him and Heero flinched a little. Shinigami assumed that was because of what happened earlier.

Heero could feel Shinigami's bare chest against his back and silently hoped that he wouldn't do anything other than this. He was feeling a bit awkward at being around the god after what had happened. When Shinigami made no move to do anything else, he relaxed and put his hands on the strong arms around him. Shinigami nuzzled his neck but nothing more.

He wasn't going to do anything else right now - He was busy thinking of a way to make his spell stronger so the others wouldn't break it somehow. His eyes popped open as he realized something that should have been obvious from the beginning...


	8. Warnings

Rewriting. 

Warnings: Yaoi.

Shinigami Chapter 8: Warnings

Peeking into the large room before the throne room, Duo saw Shinigami and Heero. Heero leaned against Shinigami's chest with his eyes half-closed, Shinigami sat in a corner of the couch with one arm around Heero and another holding a small book in front of him. Duo looked down sadly and turned to leave.

"Please - Join us..." A voice stopped him. He peered back into the room and Shinigami beckoned to him, his eyes still on the pages of the book. Heero was now looking up at the door where Duo stood. Duo stepped slowly into the room, watching Heero's gaze on him. He finally sighed and looked back down at the book in front of him and Shinigami.

Duo bit his lower lip and averted his eyes from the "couple". He finally came in and sat in a chair near the fireplace. He stared blankly at the stone lions. "So, Duo-san... Did you sleep well?" asked Shinigami, though he could answer that himself just by looking at the dark rings under the boy's eyes.

"Just fine..." Duo mumbled back. He heard Heero yawn and wondered if he had gotten any sleep either.

Shinigami smirked in Duo's direction. Heero would never be able to go back to his old life. Ever. He'd made sure of that the night before when he had made love to Heero, making the spell stronger than ever.

Duo swallowed and turned his eyes away from the lions to where the red, purple, gold-specked stone floor met the red rug beneath them. He stared at the off-white fringe on the rug and thought about what he should do about Heero. At that moment, Jemima walked into the room, followed by Trowa and Quatre. She stopped and bowed while the other two went to stand next to Duo's chair. Jemima grinned at Shinigami on seeing Duo's condition.

Shinigami rubbed Heero's shoulder and smirked again. Heero's eyes closed and he sighed heavily. Duo looked over at them in time to see Heero snuggle closer to Shinigami. He raised his eyes to Shinigami who wore a smug look of victory. Duo's pain-filled eyes lowered back to the peacefully resting Heero. He longed to hold him again but as he thought this, he understood that it was impossible to get him back. He swallowed hard and his eyes filled as he turned back around to look down at the fringe on the rug again.

Shinigami watched Duo's actions closely, noting small signs of defeat in his character. He relaxed at this and sighed quietly in relief. At least he wasn't going to try to get Heero back. He obviously saw that it was futile, and this gave Shinigami satisfaction.

Duo finally relaxed because of his realizing that there was nothing he could do, and fell asleep in the chair. And when Heero, Shinigami, and the others left, Heero dropped back and watched Duo sleeping for a moment before he took a blanket and covered the boy. He pursed his lips in thought for a moment as something seemed to flash into his mind and right back out again.

_3 Days Later..._

Duo lay in bed one night as he thought about his time here. It had been pretty uneventful: Heero hung all over Shinigami, Duo was sure he'd given up, Quatre and Trowa stuck around, offering friendly advice to Duo. He sulked around the castle during most of the day. Jemima had become a little bit more friendly towards them all though she still worried about Heero getting his memory back and didn't approve of Duo being around him. But now Heero had started sleeping with Shinigami instead of in his own room. Duo was only bothered a little by this.

He turned his head to look out the window next to his bed. He got up and walked over to the large glass doors leading to a balcony. He put one hand on it and pressed his forehead to the cool glass. He wondered if the air was still as foul and thick as he remembered. He put his hand on the gold colored handle and opened the door, pushing it out. There was a slight breeze that smelled of the ocean. Duo stepped outside and wondered how the air could smell like this. He inhaled deeply and was relieved when it flowed in and out of his lungs smoothly.

He stepped up to the cold, metal rail that surrounded the balcony. He put both hands on it and stared out into the darkness. He looked up, but wasn't surprised when he couldn't see any stars or moon. The breeze blew some stray strands of Duo's long, chestnut hair that had escaped from his braid around his face. He desperately wished that Heero could be standing here next to him, watching the calm, black outside world.

He sighed heavily and dropped slowly to his knees, leaning against the wall and holding onto the rail. The warm breeze made him drowzy and he let his eyes close. Wrapped in a warm, ever-moving blanket of air, he dozed off.

The long, lavender curtains inside the doors waved in the soft breeze as the door remained open.

Heero opened his eyes. It sounded like there was something in the hallway. His eyes flicked to Shinigami who slept soundly beside him. He cautiously rose from bed and walked into the hall. He looked down both ways and listened for that strange noise again. It was kind of like a soft but shrill whistling. It was louder to his right, so he went that way. He slipped into a navy blue robe he'd grabbed and left it open.

As he got further down the hall, the sound grew louder. He finally passed in front of one room and as his feet touched the floor in front of the door, he could feel a warm breeze coming from under it. He didn't know if someone was in the room or not, so he opened the door just a little bit after listening for any noises other than the whistling caused by the wind under the door. He saw no one, only a pair of waving curtains in front of an open balcony door. He slowly stepped inside and peered out to the balcony.

He saw Duo sort of curled up against the wall, his hand on the rail in front of him. Heero looked closer and realized that the boy was asleep. He stepped out onto the balcony and put his hands on the rail much like Duo had done earlier and stared into the darkness.

He looked toward Duo in surprise as he started mumbling. Heero half-smiled at him as he continued to mumble in his sleep. He knelt next to him and leaned in so his ear was near Duo's mouth so he could hear what he was saying. He could only make out some of the first part: "... Are you... -chan? ... I'll never..." He strained his ears to pick up anything else the boy might be saying. His eyes widened as his own name came out of Duo's mouth, clear as a bell. "Heero... you were dreaming... No, it didn't hurt... scared you... aishi... Heero..."

Heero wondered what Duo meant by all this nonsense.

Duo's eyes fluttered open. He immediately saw a dark head of hair in front of him and gasped, lurching forward in surprise. He ended up smacking heads with the person in front of him. He let out a small yelp and held his nose with both hands while Heero stood, rubbing the side of his head. Duo opened his eyes again and scrambled to his feet once he saw it was Heero who he had bumped into.

His whole body shook and he stared with wide eyes at Heero who raised his glowing green eyes to Duo. "H-H-Heero!" Duo cried in a low voice.

"Yeah, sorry I surprised you. I heard something and came down to see what it was. I found you sleeping here." Heero placed his hand on the rail.

Duo was pressing himself against the wall as hard as he could, as if it would get him away from Heero. He was in a corner and Heero was standing right in front of him. Heero continued, "Um... You started mumbling, and I was just curious, so I um... Listened. Sorry about that."

Duo's eyes widened ever further. "I-I was talking in my sleep!" he asked quietly.

Heero nodded. "Yeah, you said something about scaring someone..." He cleared his throat nervously. He wondered if he should mention that Duo had said his name twice.

Duo swallowed. "I-is... Is that it?" He was still shaking, Heero noticed. He thought that Duo must feel uncomfortable around him. He took a step backwards and shook his head. "What else did I say?" Duo asked in a whisper.

"You... mentioned me..." Heero replied quietly.

Duo thought he was going to just die right there. "What'd I say about you?"

Heero thought back to the mumbled words. "Well, first you said that I was dreaming, then you said something about scaring me... And you started to say something; it was something like 'ashi' or something." He thought about what Duo might have said, but could think of nothing.

Duo could feel the color draining from his face, though Heero couldn't see it in the darkness. He'd almost said "Aishiteru"! He was breathing hard and he suddenly felt weak. He relaxed and stopped shaking. He gripped the rail hard to keep from falling down. He pressed his other hand to his forehead. Heero tilted his head. "Are you alright?" he asked, taking a small step closer to Duo.

He yelped and stood up straight despite his feeling like he could just keel over and die. "Yes! I'm fine!" he said quickly. Heero stopped and backed up again.

"Ok... if you say so."

Duo sighed in relief. If Heero so much as touched him, he was afraid of losing himself and doing something to him. His "other side" hadn't come up for quite some time. He hadn't appeared since Duo and Heero were on earth, Heero was alive and before his coma came, Duo felt him take over several times.

He could already feel him coming out of his long hibernation and coming closer to the surface. Duo suddenly noticed that there was enough room between Heero and the wall that he could get through without bumping into Heero. He rushed back into his room and was quickly followed by Heero.

"Hey, wait a sec-" he said, putting his hand on Duo's shoulder to stop him.

Duo stopped dead and shuddered violently as a chill ran up his spine from Heero's touch, even through his clothes. He started shaking again and took a deep breath. "You'd better go..." his voice was a notch deeper than it had been earlier. Heero pulled Duo around so they were face to face.

"What are you talking about? What's the matter with you?" he asked. Duo kept his eyes averted so Heero wouldn't see them. He was sure that they were turning more silver. He pulled away from Heero's grip and held his shoulder. His skin felt strange... Like what Heero had felt when Duo was a ghost and he was alive.

Heero dropped his hand back down to his side. Duo's eyes lifted for a split second, but in that split second, Heero could see glimmering silver specks in the boy's normally amethyst eyes. He took a surprised step backwards. Duo lowered his voice to a pleading whisper, "Please... It would be better for you if you left..." His voice grew deeper each minute with Heero and his eyes turned slowly more silver.

Heero wondered what he meant by that comment. He hesitated before slowly stepping around Duo and walking towards the door. When he reached it, he stopped and looked back to the braided boy. Duo was watching him out of the corner of his now almost completely silvery eye. He closed his eyes and turned away and walked to his bed. Once he heard the door close softly behind Heero, he fell to his knees next to his bed and let the warm tears fall.

Heero listened at his door for a moment and heard soft sobs coming from inside. He looked down at the floor and turned to go back to his and Shinigami's room. He went in and closed the door behind him. He got back into bed, settling himself farther from Shinigami. He didn't feel like being with him now. Not while Duo was on his mind.

_The Next Night..._

After staying in his room all day sleeping, Duo wasn't tired now. He paced around his room restlessly. He opened his balcony doors and felt the rush of warm air flow past him, into his room. He stepped out and gripped the rail.

Suddenly, the tune for El Dorado popped into his head, quickly followed by the words. It was a habit of Duo's to sing whatever song was stuck in his head to get it out. He didn't want that song stuck in his head and it wouldn't go away unless he did sing it. So he did. He launched into song in a low voice. He closed his eyes and tapped his foot to the beat.

Unbeknownst to him, though, just outside his door sat a very concerned Heero. He had noticed how Duo had kept to himself all day in his room, and he was worried that he'd done something. He then heard a murmured tune coming from inside. He listened harder as it turned into a song with what sounded like Japanese words. He crept inside the room silently and listened, standing just to the side of the balcony door. He listened closely to the song Duo was singing softly to himself.

His eyes widened as he realized where he had heard that song. He knew it sounded familiar, but he finally remembered where he had heard it. This was the song that he had heard last week or something. The song made him almost want to cry. But it was so hopeful and optimistic.

He waited until Duo had finished the song before he stepped out onto the balcony. He looked away as Duo whirled around in surprise. He was rather embarrassed for eavesdropping.

Duo stared at Heero with his lips pressed tightly together, afraid to say anything. "How long have you been here?" he finally asked in a hoarse whisper. He was backed up against the rail as though he wanted to just sink into it and disappear.

"Not long... Only long enough to hear that song. It sounded familiar, so I came to listen." Heero still wouldn't raise his eyes to Duo's. He felt bad to be intruding like this.

Duo watched him closely, waiting for something more. He shuddered as Heero finally raised his eerie green eyes to his. "I also wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for last night," Heero said quietly.

"No, it wasn't your fault," Duo spewed quickly. "I didn't mean to just kick you out like that... I just thought..." He swallowed hard and bit his bottom lip. He went no further.

"You just thought what?" Heero asked.

Duo shook his head. "Nothing..." He pushed away from the rail and walked inside past Heero.

Turning and walking after him, Heero said, "No, tell me - What was it you thought last night?"

Duo stretched his arms and sat on his bed. "Fine, but you asked for it." He looked at Heero seriously. "I thought you might not be safe if you had stayed longer than you did." He quirked an eyebrow. "Satisfied?"

Heero looked toward the door and nodded. "I guess so..." He turned back to Duo. "Why wouldn't I have been safe?"

Duo sighed. "Nothing, just... forget I even brought it up." He turned his eyes to the floor.

Heero didn't move. For what seemed like hours, he stood there, watching Duo.

The braided boy finally sighed again and looked up. "Why are you here? Why don't you leave?" he asked.

"Does it bother you that I stay?" Heero asked instead of answering his questions.

"It doesn't bother me," Duo said in a low voice. Heero felt a chill run up his spine when he saw Duo's eyes flash silver. But then again, that look made him feel safe, as well. He couldn't explain it if he tried, but he felt almost comforted when Duo looked at him like that.

"Then why should I go?"

Duo smirked. "You don't want to know." His eyes grew more and more silver with every passing second. His voice grew deeper. "But I would strongly advise that you do leave."

"Why?" Heero asked again.

"Persistant, aren't we?" Duo stood and met Heero's unwavering gaze with his own. "I'm serious, you _don't_ want to know. But should you decide to leave, here's a tip: When my eyes turn completely silver, it'll be too late," he warned.

Heero narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Duo. "What will happen when your eyes turn silver?" he whispered.

Duo turned away from Heero and looked at him out of the corner of his almost completely silver eye. "Nothing good for you." He then flashed a strange grin that definitely put some ideas into Heero's head. Duo saw an almost panicked look cross Heero's face and added, "I won't hurt you, you don't have to worry too much... But be aware that pain does not always come physically."

"What do you mean?" Heero put one foot behind him like he was preparing to turn and flee for his life.

Duo chuckled. "What could happen might... perhaps... mentally _traumatize_ you. Make you feel like you were betrayed or taken advantage of. I don't think there's a need to further elaborate." And with that, he nodded toward the door, idicating that Heero should leave.

"Do you really want me to leave?" he asked.

"You really ask a lot of questions..." Duo said thoughtfully. "But I can't give you a solid answer on that one - It's a kind of yes and no. Yes, I want you to go because I don't want to hurt you. But on the other hand, I don't want you to go, because of my own reasons." He flashed that strange grin again. He was internally hoping to kind of scare Heero off, so he wouldn't do anything to him. But the other side of him - The side that had surfaced now, did not want him to leave. He wanted to hold Heero again, touch him, bring him pleasure again.

Heero gradually leaned on his foot behind him and finally took a full step back, away from Duo. "I don't think there's any reason for me to leave," he lied. "You just seem to want to get rid of me."

Duo cringed and looked down at the floor quickly. "I don't want to get rid of you, but I don't want you hurt. That's the last thing I want."

"Why can't you just tell me directly why I should leave?" Heero demanded. "What are you afraid will happen to me that I can't handle?" His eyes widened considerably as Duo raised his eyes to his again. They were completely silver.

Duo grinned wickedly and in a deep voice, said, "I warned you..."


	9. Acceptance

Rewriting. 

Warnings: Yaoi.

Shinigami Chapter 9: Acceptance

Heero stumbled backward when Duo began to approach him. Duo watched with that same wicked grin as before while he moved to stand in front of the door. Heero panicked more when he did that. He looked around quickly and in that split second that Heero's attention was elsewhere, Duo blurred and appeared right in front of Heero, his nose about five inches from Heero's. Heero gasped and stumbled backwards again. He was right where Duo wanted him... He was backing up towards the bed... His grin widened as Heero backed up into the bed and he quickly looked down to see what he had bumped into.

Taking advantage of the moment when Heero's attention wasn't on him again, he leaned forward and forced him onto his back on the bed. He grinned as he kneeled over him. Heero watched him with wide eyes. He suddenly jerked up his hands and pushed against Duo's chest, trying to get him off. Duo barely moved. He took one of Heero's wrists and held it tightly.

"Duo! Get off of me!" Heero demanded in a low voice. He suddenly realized that Duo had been trying to warn him of this, but he hadn't listened. He watched the smile on Duo's face melt away to reveal a soft, loving look. Heero relaxed under his gaze and Duo felt that. He lowered himself onto Heero and kissed him passionately. Heero clenched his fists, one hand gripping a handful of Duo's shirt.

Duo loosened his grip on Heero's wrist and broke off from their kiss. He gazed down at his Heero. The one who had been so suddenly stolen from him. The one he loved more than anything. He watched Heero's eyes closely, looking for any change in their neon green glow signaling the spell faltering somehow.

He raised his hand to Heero's face and lightly pressed the back of his fingers to his cheek. Heero stared at him with an almost pleading expression.

'Pleading to be let go...' Duo thought. His current character began to melt back down into the real Duo. Heero watched in confusion as Duo frowned sadly and the silver in his eyes slowly retreated, leaving behind his normal amethyst color. Duo pushed himself up off of Heero and backed up from the bed. Heero sat up and bounced off of the bed as well and stood there, watching Duo as he backed up farther away.

He stopped and turned to the door. Giving Heero a mournful look, he fled from the room. He raced down the hallways, tears blurring his vision. He slowed down when he'd gotten to the main hallway in fear of running into something. He blinked, forcing the tears out of his eyes and sent them streaming down his cheeks. He looked around and continued running through another door. And another. And another.

He ran on and on through random doors, taking him further into the castle. He finally stopped after running for about 20 minutes straight. He was inside a library. He saw a curtain and went to look outside.

Black nothingness stared back at him. He dropped the curtain and looked around. Above him was a second level so as to reach more books. The platform attached all along the walls was about five feet wide from what he could see in the dark. He saw a zigzagging staircase leading to the platform and approached it.

He looked behind him and started up the stairs. When he reached the second level, he walked around the entire room and came back to where he started. He then went to a corner and sat down. He hugged his knees tightly to his chest and buried his face in his arms. He sniffed quietly and looked back up with teary eyes. He glanced around the room slowly before he released his legs and curled up into a small, cat-like ball, covering his face with his forearm. And he eventually fell asleep there.

Meanwhile, Heero raced out of Duo's room and ran silently down the hall towards his and Shinigami's room. He stopped briefly outside the door and listened. Hearing nothing, he swiftly stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Letting out a barely audible sigh, he crossed the room and climbed back into bed and curled up close to Shinigami.

The Death God was roused by the boy's movement and he looked down to where he was balled up right against his own body. Heero's eyes were closed, but it was rather obvious that he was awake. Shinigami put his arms around Heero in a comforting gesture and waited until Heero's breathing was slow and even and his body relaxed before returning to sleep.

xxx

For two days straight, Duo could not be found. Shinigami obviously knew where he was, but he wasn't about to tell anyone that. Jemima could tell that her lord knew where the missing guest was from the calm look on his face. No one else seemed to notice this.

Heero hadn't said much in the past two days and when he did speak, it was barely above a mutter. He wouldn't meet anyone's eyes for very long and whenever someone mentioned Duo or his disappearance, he would tense up and get fidgety.

One time, the morning after Duo had come after Heero, Shinigami had randomly embraced him from behind. Heero smiled a bit at his public show of affection since Quatre and Trowa were also in the room. Quatre looked about and asked, "Has anyone seen Duo?"

Heero's small smile had vanished and he'd flinched at this. Shinigami felt his shoulders tense up and Heero started shifting from foot to foot. Shinigami moved to one side of him and stood there with one arm around his tense shoulders. He watched Heero's eyes closely and noted the fear in them.

After that, Heero eventually calmed down and allowed himself to relax a bit. Well, until the next time a certain braided boy was mentioned.

On the third night, after everyone had fallen asleep, Heero got up again. He had started to feel bad for Duo. He obviously had fallen for Heero and Heero didn't love him back.

He went in the direction that Duo had taken off in that night and tiptoed carefully down the hallways. He peeked into rooms and softly called Duo's name. After about an hour of searching down random hallways, he finally came to the library. He hadn't even thought Duo would be there.

He peeked inside the huge, dark room.

Duo had something of a 6th sense when it came to Heero. He was like a "Heero detector" - He could feel it when he was nearby and looking for him. He opened his eyes and stared past the platform and into the dark room, following the glowing green eyes looking around for him. He heard his name come from Heero's mouth in a soft whisper.

'What, does he think his almighty Death God lover will hear him all the way out here?' Duo thought bitterly and closed his eyes again, thinking that Heero would not find him after just looking on the ground level and leave. He listened to Heero continuing to call out softly to him and curled into a tighter ball. He hadn't moved since three nights ago. Not one bit.

When Heero began to climb the stairs to the platform he was on, Duo opened his eyes and scowled. Heero came into view and he immediately saw the agonizing boy curled up in the corner. "Duo..." he said gently, coming to stand about six feet away from him.

Duo turned his vehement eyes to Heero. "What are you doing here?" he growled.

Heero sighed. "You don't need to get angry..." he said defensively. "I just wondered where you were."

"Hasn't that gotten you into a bit of trouble in the past?" Duo half jeered half warned. "Can't you just get over your little guilt fit and not care about me like everyone else?"

Heero's eyes narrowed. "I don't feel guilty. It wasn't my fault and I know it."

Duo quirked an eyebrow slightly. "Oh really? Did I not warn you to leave? Was it not you who insisted on staying just to see what would happen? You had to be the rebel and find out what I would do to you even after I told you it would be bad."

Heero blinked. This was all true. He suddenly did feel truly guilty and he turned his eyes to the towering book shelves beside him.

"Mm... Now you see... Now you have a reason to feel guilty," Duo said with a bitter chuckle. "But really - forget about it and stop caring about what happens to others besides Shinigami and just allow your life to revolve completely around that bastard."

Heero's head snapped up and his lip curled in disgust at the comment. "I thought you were his friend."

"He lied... He's a bastard and I hate him. He stole you away from me when we were on Earth. And since he is a god - I couldn't exactly stop him." Heero stared at him in disbelief, but before he could say anything, Duo stood up and plunged on, "He took you because he's a greedy, dastardly god and he erased your memories! He must have replaced them with false ones because you seem to believe that you've been here practically your whole "life"!" Duo made quotation marks with his fingers when he said 'life'. "And you know what - You're dead! In case you didn't realize that. He's not calling himself 'The Death God' for his health!" Duo cried, his voice echoing in the huge room. "You were with me on Earth and we were both dead, we were ghosts and we stayed in my old house where I died! You met me when you moved into my house after I died. We were the best of friends! We slept in the same bed even before we-" He cut himself off. Heero wouldn't believe him if he continued, so there really wasn't much point.

Heero watched Duo shaking in fury and said, "Before we what?"

Duo narrowed his eyes at him. "Why should you care? You don't believe me - I know it. After that bastard replaced your memories, I knew there wouldn't be any way to get you back. Quatre warned me about this, he told me not to attempt to get you to remember because it was futile and you wouldn't remember me or our lives on Earth no matter what. Shinigami obviously wasn't going to freely give you back your memories."

Heero took a step forward. Duo leaped backwards, bumped into the bookshelf and moved sideways instead, farther down the platform. Heero sighed and didn't move any further. "I want to know what you were going to say... Before we what?"

Duo glared daggers at him. "Didn't asking questions get you into trouble last time?" he hissed.

"If you'd just answer me, I'd stop!" Heero shot back.

"You always ask the questions that I know you don't want to hear the answer to. Besides, you're eventually going to stop caring about me completely - like you should have from the time you met me after Shinigami erased your memories," Duo said, lowering his voice. "There's really no point in telling you."

"Other than the fact that I want to know. You can't just start telling me something and stop," Heero persisted.

Duo chuckled again and shook his head. "You always hated that..." he whispered, more to himself than Heero. He looked back up, the hatred in his eyes relented considerably. "Ok, Heero... If you really want to know, I'll tell you. But then you can go see Shinigami and have him erase your memories again so you don't even know I exist... again." He sighed. "I was going to say, that we slept in the same bed before we even found out that we loved each other." He kept his gaze on Heero steady as the boy blinked several times. "Now go ahead and run to Shinigami... I'm sure he'll happily erase those memories you have now..."

Heero shook his head in almost disbelief. "Why would I want to forget you?"

Duo stared at him like he was purple. "You're kidding me, right? Why would you want to _remember_ all of this?"

Heero shrugged. "I don't know... I don't want my memories erased at all. I want to remember everything I experience. Good and bad and everything inbetween."

Duo put one hand on his hip and rubbed his eyes with the other. "I swear, Heero, I will never understand you."

"What's to understand? I'm accepting what happens to me, whether good or bad. Everything that happens to me is pretty much my own choice, so if it is a bad choice, I can remember and learn from it. If it is a good choice, I can remember back to a happy memory." Heero crossed his arms loosely. "I want to remember my experiences with you so I can either learn from them or just to reminisce."

Duo nearly burst into tears when the green in Heero's eyes flickered for a few seconds and came back, significantly dimmer than before. He choked and stumbled backwards, into the bookshelves again.

Heero tilted his head curiously. "What's the matter, Duo?"

Duo shook his head quickly and swallowed the lump in his throat. He forced back tears as he watched Heero's eyes for more change in the color. "Nothing, Heero... I just..." He'd told Heero everything else... Why not tell him about his eye color in the dark? "When Shinigami erased your memories, you were also put under a spell, apparently. Your eyes are what tells us that you're still under his control." He stared into his eyes, almost hypnotized by them as he had when he'd first seen them. "In the dark they're a really eerie green, glowy color. Like a cat's. And if you don't know what a cat is since you think you've lived here all your life, Jemima is a real cat sometimes..."

Heero rolled his eyes. "I know what a cat is! I'm not stupid!"

"I never said you were, but since you think you've lived here all your life and you've had all your memories erased, I didn't think you'd remember what a cat was. But since Jemima _is_ a cat..." He drifted off and sighed heavily. "Oh, nevermind."

Heero's expression softened and he sighed too. "Continue."

"Anyway - Your eyes turned green like that, but you can't see it when you look into a mirror in the dark, but it goes away when you're in the light." Duo paused. "See what I mean?"

Heero shifted his feet. "So you're saying that right now, at this very moment, my eyes are glowing green?"

Duo nodded. "That would be correct. And the reason I did that thing just now was because the green in your eyes flickered and dimmed. I don't know if that means you're breaking out of Shinigami's spell and getting your memories back or something else."

"What else could it be?" Heero asked.

Duo shrugged. "I dunno... Maybe the green just wears off after a while and you really are permanently under his spell." He had to keep himself from shuddering at the very thought of that.

Heero looked down. "I hope not..." he muttered under his breath.

After a moment of silence, Duo asked, "Do you believe me? It's kind of hard to believe something you can't see or remember... But I swear it's the truth."

Heero closed his eyes and sighed, his head still bowed. "I don't know... I guess I kind of do. But yes, it is hard to believe something I can't see or remember."

The silence between them grew as Heero thought over what he had just been told and Duo hoped and prayed that Heero would get his memory back sooner or later, preferably sooner. Heero kept his head bowed and he racked his brain for any trace of a memory with Duo other than that of the past week or so.

After what seemed like hours, Heero's head snapped up to look at the braided boy. "Duo!" he cried.

The said boy looked up and a small squeak escaped his throat...


	10. Arachnophobia

Rewriting still. 

Warnings: Yaoi. Song is "Runaway" by Linkin' Park

Shinigami Chapter 10: Arachnophobia

"Duo..." Heero squeaked. He looked back down and Duo followed his gaze to the giant tarantula crawling slowly across Heero's bare foot. As it stepped off to the platform and made its way towards Duo, Heero fainted. Duo bit his lip to keep from grinning or laughing and he stretched out his arm and moved his fingers uncertainly at Heero as he fell as if he were tapping on an unseen surface. Heero thudded to the floor and Duo cringed, still keeping back a grin.

He knelt and held out his hand to the spider. As soon as it was on his hand, he lifted it slowly and cupped his other hand under it. He turned his hands over and over, watching the fuzzy creature's slow, cautious step and waited for Heero to come around.

He did - Fairly quickly. He groaned and propped himself up on his elbow, rubbing his head with his other hand. He looked up and scrambled to his feet. "Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty," Duo snickered, still inspecting the spider. He quirked an eyebrow at Heero. "It's just a spider, this one's bigger than the ones on earth, though. But it's harmless."

"Isn't it poisonous?" Heero asked, staring at it warily.

Duo shrugged. "Dunno, it might be. But tarantulas don't bite unless they're provoked or something. But they might not be, 'cause they let kids under 10 hold them in museums and stuff like that." Duo watched happily as it attempted to crawl up his arm, stopped by his free hand.

Heero blinked. Something lit in the back of his mind as he watched Duo with the spider. He couldn't bring it forward so he just focused on it. Closing his eyes, he saw several things flashing by in a split second.

First he saw himself and Duo. They were kissing. Duo had his hair down and Heero's eyes were wide open. Heero closed his eyes in the vision and it changed. Heero was running. Everything was dark except the doors that were flying past. One door opened in front of him, allowing him through to pitch blackness. Then it changed again. He was racing through another door and into another dark room. This one had a big window and one door that swung open for Heero, revealing darkness again. Then it changed yet again. Heero was standing in a black room. He couldn't feel the pain, but he felt his body being hurled into the wall behind him. And suddenly, Duo was standing before him, glowing.

Heero could see Duo's mouth moving for a little bit until he looked suddenly angry and it changed to Heero looking over Duo's back as he launched his fist into Heero's gut. He fell to his knees. He watched Duo's satisfied grin as he started convulsing in pain that he couldn't feel. Duo talked for a while as Heero continued convulsing.

He watched a black widow crawl out of Duo's sleeve and onto his hand and he continued to talk to Heero with a smug look. Heero couldn't understand it - What was all of this? Before he could figure it out, the scene changed again. Duo was leaning over him like in the first scene, but Heero shoved him. Following the moment when Heero's palms touched Duo, Heero was running down a sidewalk in the dark of night. He saw a park ahead of him and the scene changed again to a vision of the sky, sparkling with stars and a white crescent moon.

The visions ended there. Heero opened his eyes again to see Duo with the spider still, hardly taking notice of his presence. Heero recalled each picture he saw and pondered over them. During the one with Duo standing in front of him with the spider as he was lurching, he decided that it was this picture that had been the cause of this whole thing. Duo's standing there with the tarantula reminded him of that time.

"Duo," Heero said, gaining the boy's attention. Duo put the tarantula back on the floor, facing the opposite direction of him and Heero. "I just... saw something."

Duo tilted his head. "Like what?"

Heero shook his head. "I don't know. Like a vision or..." He paused and looked up with a hopeful expression. "A memory."

Duo's eyes narrowed. "What did you remember? Did it happen here?"

Heero shook his head again. "Huh-uh, it was somewhere else. At one point, I was looking up at the sky. It wasn't like here. It had... I don't know what they were. They looked like some kind of glitter or something. And a silvery crescent that I couldn't identify." He looked at Duo hopefully. "Do you know what I saw?"

Duo smiled sadly and nodded. "Yeah... I do. You saw stars and the moon, Heero. You remembered." Duo looked like he was about to cry. "What else did you see?"

Heero hesitated. "You..." he cleared his throat quietly. "and me. In the first scene, um... we were kissing and it changed to a scene where I was running through hallways and doors. I ended up in a dark room and you were standing in front of me, glowing," he said quickly. "And then you were trying to kill me."

As Heero said this, Duo remembered a time when he'd said something similar:

_Duo sat in Heero's chair, crying because of Heero's reaction to him earlier. Heero had come in and was sitting on the bed. Duo sniffed. "I woke you up because you looked like you were having a nightmare," he said quietly._

_"I'm sorry," Heero whispered. "It was an awful dream and since that's how it began, I panicked."_

_Duo blinked and nodded. "Do you want to tell me about it?" he asked._

_Heero hesitated. "Y-you were trying to kill me, that's all," he said uneasily. He shuddered..._

"So, um... What else did you remember?" Duo asked.

"Well, the next scene was like the first, but we weren't kissing. You were leaning over me and I pushed you away. It switched to me running at night down some sort of road. And then the last one was a picture of the sky with the stars and the moon," Heero concluded.

Duo nodded. He remembered that night.

Heero rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Did I remember something from earth, then?" he asked.

Duo nodded again. "Yeah, I remember when that happened."

Heero's eyes widened. "You mean you really _did_ try to kill me?" he cried.

Duo shook his head quickly. "Oh, no! No, I didn't - I would never! That first part was a dream you had... I remember waking up and you looked like you were having a nightmare, and you wouldn't wake up so I leaned over you and woke you up. When you did, you freaked out and pushed me and ran outside." He shrugged. "I don't know where you went, but that's what happened, I guess." Heero watched Duo as he stared into the darkness of the library with a far-away look in his eyes. He blinked and he looked back up at Heero. "When you came back that night," he started, his voice soft, "I was crying... You came into our room and explained to me that you'd just had a dream where we were in that same position as when I woke you up. You told me that I'd tried to kill you in that nightmare and you just panicked when you woke up like that."

Heero wrapped his arms around himself and looked down. "Why am I remembering this?" he whispered.

Duo sighed and answered the best way he knew how, "I don't know."

After a short spell of silence, Duo asked, "Do you believe me now?"

Heero swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"Believe what?" a cool, Scottish voice said from behind Heero.

Both boys jumped and Heero spun around, stumbling backwards toward Duo in surprise. Jemima chuckled. "Tell me, Heero-kun... What was it that Duo got you to believe?" Her gold eyes gleamed menacingly in the darkness. Her shadowy form stalked slowly towards them.

Heero glanced at Duo, the green in his eyes flaring suddenly and dying back down to a faint glow. Duo shivered. Someone was behind him... Watching him... He could feel their eyes on his back. He watched Jemima's eyes as they flicked to look behind him at whoever was there and back to Heero.

Duo took in a shaky breath. "You could probably make yourself less noticable if you wanted, couldn't you, Shinigami?"

A strange, low cackle emitted from the throat of the Death God and he grinned. "I was starting to think you'd never figure out that I was here," he said coolly.

Heero averted his eyes from Shinigami.

_Graffiti decorations / Under a sky of dust / A constant wave of tension / On top of broken trust_

"What's the matter, Heero?" he asked, not taking notice of the dimming color in his eyes.

"Tell me, Heero-kun... What did Duo get you to believe?" Jemima repeated, stalking a bit closer.

_The lessons that you taught me / I learned were never true / Now I find myself in question / They point the finger at me again / Guilty by association / You point the finger at me again_

Shinigami nodded. "Yes, Heero, please... Do tell. We're very interested to hear it." He looked sideways at Duo as he strode past to stand before Heero. He wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Feeling how tense and stiff he was, he began to worry and looked at his eyes carefully. His own eyes widened in shock at the significant decline in the glowing green. Heero shut his eyes and turned his head toward the floor away from Shinigami.

_I wanna run away / Never say good-bye / I wanna know the truth / Instead of wondering why / I wanna know the answers / No more lies / I wanna shut the door / And open up my mind_

Shinigami scowled. "Heero..." he warned in a low voice. "What has he told you?"

Heero shut his eyes tighter and wrapped his arms tighter around himself as though he were trying to shut out Shinigami's words. He remained silent.

_Paper bags and angry voices / Under a sky of dust / Another wave of tension / Has more than filled me up / All my talk of taking action / These words were never true / Now I find myself in question / They point the finger at me again / Guilty by association / You point the finger at me again_

Shinigami glared at Duo. "Heero, tell me," he demanded. Duo watched Heero with concern, hoping he'd tell Shinigami what he had said, fearing that Shinigami might force him. Shinigami growled when Heero still didn't answer.

_I wanna run away / Never say good-bye / I wanna know the truth / Instead of wondering why / I wanna know the answers / No more lies / I wanna shut the door / And open up my mind_

"Heero!" Shinigami bellowed, spinning him around to face him. Heero blinked up at him and swallowed, staring him in the eye. Shinigami waited, holding Heero's shoulders.

Heero shook his head. "I don't want you to erase my memories."

_I'm gonna run away / And never say good-bye / I'm gonna run away / And never wonder why / I'm gonna run away / And open up my mind_

Shinigami stared back at him. "What?" he yelled. "What are you talking about? I asked you to tell me what he told you!"

Duo stepped forward angrily. "Leave him alone, Shinigami! He knows now, ok? So get over it!" Shinigami growled again and swerved around towards Duo. In one swift motion, the side of his fist collided with Duo's head right above his ear, slamming him into the bookshelves.

Heero just barely kept down his yelp at seeing Duo hit like that.

_I wanna run away / Never say good-bye / I wanna know the truth / Instead of wondering why / I wanna know the answers / No more lies / I wanna shut the door / And open up my mind_

Duo crashed to the floor after his head hit the bookshelf and he groaned. Shinigami bent hastily over him and hauled him back up by his shirt. He slapped him not-so-gently to get him to open his eyes. Clouded amethyst orbs finally opened to see two or three swaying pairs of angry, violet ones.

Shinigami's lip curled. "He knows that none of that nonsense you told him is true... He knows better than that!"

"Stop it, Shinigami!" Heero cried, unable to keep the demand down his throat.

_I wanna run away / And open up my mind / I wanna run away / And open up my mind / I wanna run away / And open up my mind / I wanna run away / And open up my mind_

Shinigami stopped and looked back at Heero out of the corner of his eye. He pushed Duo away and let go of his shirt, sending him stumbling backwards until he caught himself on the rail beside him. He slid down to the floor, holding his pounding head in his hands.

"Heero..." Shinigami warned, "You of all people should not be defending Duo."

"Why not? He's telling me the truth, and I know it! I saw through your spell and remembered a time when Duo and I were back on earth!" he said.

Shinigami howled in anger when the green in Heero's eyes flickered again and came back, barely visible. Heero backed up a step. "Don't erase my memories again, Shinigami!"

The god looked at him. His eyes narrowed. "And who's going to stop me? All you'll know is what I put in your head... You won't even know this happened. Like you should."

"No!" Heero shouted. "I should know! I have a right to know what's happened to me and I have the right to make my own choices!" The green in his eyes flared brightly and flickered continuously. "And I choose to remember Duo and what you have done to me," he screamed "and I choose to be with Duo!" At that, the flickering stopped and the green disappeared from Heero's eyes.


	11. Banished

Rewriting. 

Warnings: Yaoi. Song is "Easier to Run" by Linkin' Park.

Shinigami Chapter 11: Banished

Heero started to step around Shinigami to get to Duo, but was stopped by Shinigami's arm. He scowled at the god. Shinigami stared at him sadly. He cupped Heero's cheek in his hand for a moment and said slowly, "That's a pity..." Heero's eyes widened and he just vanished. Jemima yelped.

Shinigami looked solemnly at Duo who was still holding his head in his hands. "If he refuses to stay with me," he droned, "he will be without us both." He stalked closer to Duo and hauled him once again to his feet. Duo stared at him hard, still trying to clear his vision completely. "Are you quite satisfied?" Without waiting for an answer, he turned and strode away. He passed Jemima and descended the stairs.

Before he reached the door, he was stopped by Duo's voice. "What did you do with him?" he asked, his voice wavering as though he were going to be sick.

"Even if I told you, you'd never be able to get him back." Shinigami continued towards the door again.

"STOP!" Duo shouted. Shinigami turned, anger burning in his eyes.

"What?" he shouted back.

"Tell me where Heero is!" the braided boy demanded. He ran around to the staircase and down to the ground floor with Shinigami. He stopped in front of him. "Tell me."

Shinigami sighed and rolled his eyes. "I sent him outside," he said. "But reaching him won't be nearly that simple. You would never succeed."

"Try me," Duo challenged. He noted Shinigami's lonely stare into the darkness of the library. His eyes showed despair under the angry surface.

"You will have to find him yourself," the Death God informed him quietly.

Duo nodded determinedly. "I will." He walked around Shinigami and out of the library for the first time in days. He raced down the hallway, calling for Quatre and Trowa. He found them in Quatre's room, talking quietly. They looked up at him in surprise as he appeared in their doorway. "I'm going to find Heero, no matter what." He then raced off down the hall toward the front door. He was out before they could blink.

He stumbled and coughed as he hurtled outside. The thick, tarry air seemed to stick in his throat and he choked. It took him a moment to get used to breathing like that before he started into the black hell.

Quatre and Trowa went to the front door and glanced around. A voice behind them made them jump.

_It's easier to run / Replacing this pain with something numb / It's so much easier to go / Than face all this pain here all alone_

"He's left, then?" Shinigami drawled. The pair stared at his forlorn and lonely expression as he said this. He nodded. "I thought so."

_Something has been taken from deep inside of me / A secret I've kept locked away / No one could ever see / Wounds so deep they never show / They never go away / Like moving pictures in my head / For years and years they've played_

"Why is he searching for Heero?" Quatre asked. "What did you do?"

_If I could change I would / Take back the pain I would / Retrace every wrong move that I made I would / If I could stand up and take the blame I would / If I could take all my shame to the grave I would / If I could change I would / Take back the pain I would / Retrace every wrong move that I made I would / If I could stand up and take the blame I would / I would take all my shame to the grave_

Shinigami sighed slowly. "Heero broke my spell. If he broke out of it when it was at its strongest point, he would be able to do it again. So he is basically refusing to stay with me. So I told Duo that neither of us could have him and sent him somewhere."

_It's easier to run / Replacing this pain with something numb / It's so much easier to go / Than face all this pain here all alone_

"'Somewhere'?" Quatre repeated. "Somewhere in the Fifth Level?" Shinigami nodded. "You selfish bastard!" he yelled. Shinigami looked up at him in surprise. Quatre didn't seem like one to speak that way. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about, Shinigami! You know that wasn't right! You used to be a pretty decent guy - So what's this all about?" Trowa put a hand on Quatre's shoulder. He fumed silently.

_Sometimes I remember / The darkness of my past / Bringing back these memories / I wish I didn't have / Sometimes I think of letting go / And never looking back / And never moving forward so / There'd never be a past_

Trowa looked up. "He's right. You know that wasn't fair for Heero."

Shinigami's expression turned mournful. "Yes, I do. I know I'm a greedy, selfish bastard." He sighed. "And I do know that this was not fair for Heero. But I will not change what I did, nor _can_ I." He shook his head and walked into the room leading into his throne room.

_If I could change I would / Take back the pain I would / Retrace every wrong move that I made I would / If I could / Stand up and take the blame I would / If I could take all my shame into the grave I would / If I could change I would / Take back the pain I would / Retrace every wrong move that I made I would / If I could stand up and take the blame I would / I would take all my shame to the grave_

Quatre and Trowa exchanged glances before following him. He was sitting in a large chair in front of the fireplace. He was unbraiding his hair. He stuck out his hand, palm up and flicked his hand upward. A fire flared up in the fireplace and filled the dark room with a comforting orange glow. Shinigami sighed and stared into the flames.

_Just washing it aside / All of the helplessness inside / Pretending I don't feel misplaced / It's so much simpler than change_

Quatre stepped forward. "What do you mean? You can't get him back?" he asked softly.

_It's easier to run / Replacing this pain with something numb / It's so much easier to go / Than face all this pain here all alone / It's easier to run!_

The despairing god shook his head. "No, and I regret ever doing it because Heero doesn't deserve what I gave him. I cannot get him back because he has obviously moved from the place where I sent him. I have already tried to get him back. It's no use." He sighed again.

_If I could change I would / Take back the pain I would / Retrace every wrong move that I made / It's easier to go!_

"Why can't you just locate him?" Quatre suggested.

Shinigami turned his dull eyes to Quatre. "If I could, I would have by now," he replied emotionlessly. "I can only locate things in my castle, not on the Fifth Level. And although I am the keeper here, I do not know where it is that Heero was sent."

_If I could change I would / Take back the pain I would / Retrace every wrong move that I made I would / If I could / Stand up and take the blame I would / I would take all my shame / To the grave!_

Quatre looked up at Trowa. "We should go after Duo."

Trowa immediately shook his head.

"Why not!" Quatre cried.

"We should send someone who knows more about the Fifth Level and where to search. Shinigami cannot since he does not know his Level very well, and we certainly can't because we are less experienced than he." Trowa motioned toward Shinigami. "We need to send someone who knows the land here and is not confined to a castle or the other duties of a Level Keeper."

Quatre nodded slowly. Both bowed their heads and thought about who matched Trowa's description. Trowa thought of these people first and smiled softly at Quatre, indicating that he had someone in mind. Soon the idea spread to Quatre and he nodded his approval.

xxx

Duo walked briskly through the dank darkness of the Fifth Level, keeping his thoughts as positive as was entirely possible at the moment. He stopped at the summit of a large hill and gazed around at the land. He saw nothing. As he had expected. He closed his eyes and inhaled slowly before setting off again.

It wasn't long until Duo was scared out of his wits when a dark figure popped up out of nowhere and hovered before him. Duo backed up hastily and stared, wide-eyed as the figure drifted down to touch its feet to the ground and started walking toward him.

He stumbled backwards and tripped over a large rock, landing on his back. He stared up as the figure leaned over him saying, "Calm down, Duo - Geez..." The voice was female, and Duo didn't recognize it.

"Who are you?" he asked, scrambling back to his feet and watching the girl.

He heard her sigh. "I'm here to help you find Heero. My name is Hikaru and this is my partner-" Another person popped up out of nowhere and hovered for a moment before lowering to the ground as Hikaru had done. "-Death Sprite!"

A male voice protested, "Stop calling me that!"

Duo recognized that voice from somewhere, but he couldn't tell who the male who spoke was because of the darkness. Duo's aura was dull at the moment and didn't give off much light anyway. It helped him to see if he was going to trip over something that was three inches away, but that's about it.

"Do I know you?" Duo asked.

"You don't know me," Hikaru said. "But you know him." Duo saw her shadowy figure indicate to the male she was with.

"Don't you guys have auras like this? I can't even see your faces," Duo pointed out.

"Yes," replied the male. "But ours are black, so you wouldn't be able to see it anyway."

"They're black!" Duo thought that wasn't possible.

"Yeah," Hikaru replied. "But we can make them different colours - we just prefer black so we can blend into the background more." The boy grumbled something.

"Well? Are you going to change them so I can see who you are?" Duo asked.

"Sure!" Hikaru said, changing her black aura to a blood red one. Duo could now see her, though it was still dark. She had long, black hair with red streaks and narrow red eyes. They were the eyes of a mischievous imp. She grinned at him, revealing a pair of fangs. She was dressed in a black tank top with what looked like black jeans. On her feet were a plain pair of navy blue sneakers.

The boy sighed and also changed his aura to a dull gold color. Duo cried out in surprise. There, standing with his arms crossed in obvious irritation, was Chang Wufei. His lips were slightly pursed in an annoyed, childlike expression and he raised his black eyes to Duo. "Yeah, it's me - Get over it..." he grumbled. Duo noticed small changes in Wufei. For instance, his ears were pointed and Duo saw fangs in his mouth when he spoke.

Duo smiled slightly. "I didn't know you could change like that when you die..." he said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, well, let's go," Wufei muttered quickly. He turned and stalked off into the darkness.

Duo blinked at him. Hikaru smiled. "Yeah, he's right - We should go if we ever want to find Heero-san." She turned to follow Wufei. Duo hesitated before hurrying after them.

xxx

After walking for a surprisingly short time, the trio ended up at the edge of a dark pit. It seemed to stretch on for miles in circumference. The bottom was not visible, so they couldn't tell how deep it ran. Wufei looked at Duo boredly. "Well, come on," he said impatiently as he lowered himself into the hole. Hikaru didn't even bother holding onto the edge and go slowly as Wufei demonstrated; she just jumped in. Duo watched Hikaru disappear under the dark fog inside the hole. Wufei quirked an eyebrow at him. "Do you want to get Heero back or not?" he asked, his impatience growing.

Duo glared sharply at him. A startled look crossed Wufei's features. Duo was a bit touchy about this. He scowled and climbed into the hole after Wufei. He couldn't see anything outside his own dull aura. He heard shuffling to his left and peered hard through the black foggy air. "Wufei?"

"What?" He sounded irritated. In truth, he was stuck. He was attempting to find a ledge beneath him to step on.

"Sorry... I just wanted to know if that was you or Hikaru." Duo continued down the side of the pit and realized that it was a half-circle. It started curving to a more horizontal slant as he got further down. He heard rocks come loose and go tumbling down into the hole, getting louder every time they hit the ground until they stopped at the bottom.

Duo finally was able to walk on the ground and he peered closely into the darkness once again, trying to find his companions. He jumped when he heard something that sounded like a shrill bird call. Another one answered not far away. He realized that that noise must have been Hikaru and Wufei finding each other.

Wufei and Hikaru listened to each other's calls and met up again. Duo heard them chanting something and the fog lifted. Duo inhaled sharply on seeing something that looked like a small house in the middle of the pit that really wasn't very wide after all. It was a very dull yellowish color and it had only one floor. The broken windows were dark and the door stood ajar, hanging by the top hinge. There were shingles missing on the low roof and there were rather old fashion shutters missing their pairs and the paint on the house and the remaining shutters was chipped and peeling. The drain pipe that lined the roof and sides of the house was broken at points and sagged. It was so run down and depressing.

Wufei and Hikaru came up on either side of Duo. Wufei nodded towards the dark house. "There he is."


	12. All That I Got

Rewriting. 

Warnings: Yaoi. Song is "Faint" by Linkin' Park.

Shinigami Chapter 12: All That I Got

Duo gaped at the house where Wufei claimed Heero was. He glanced at him. "You're kidding me, right?"

Wufei rolled his eyes and snorted. "Yeah, I'm kidding you," he replied sarcastically. "This is why I took the time to come lead you here - to lie to you about it." He quirked a disturbingly perfect eyebrow. "Of course he's there, I would not have said so otherwise."

Duo nodded. "Yeah, you're right... Sorry..." he mumbled, looking down at the black soil. He heard Wufei sigh and looked back up at the house. "You guys aren't coming, are you?" he asked.

Hikaru shook her head. "No, we're staying here. You have to face him by yourself. But be careful - He's pretty unstable. He's confused and might get emotional. If you aren't aware of his feelings and mood changes, you could break him..." she warned. "It is likely that he will not recognize you, either. You have to convince him that this place is not real. It is all real in his head. He doesn't know any other world. Convince him to come with you if you want to get him out of here." Her crimson eyes were half-closed with pity. "Just... be aware that he's very fragile and upsetting him could lead to bad things."

Duo nodded again. "I hope I can do this without getting upset myself." And with that, he started toward the house. He stopped at the door and peered inside before stepping over the threshold. The floor was littered with broken furniture so he had to be careful in order not to make noise. A thin layer of dust covered everything in the house that he could see.

As he walked down a short hallway, he looked at the framed photos on the walls. They were crooked and the glass broken on some. The first one showed Heero smiling, standing next to a cloudy, unidentifiable figure in a room that looked a lot like their old bedroom. The next showed him lying on a couch with a book in his hands. In the backround stood the shadowy figure again.

Duo shook his head and continued on down the hall without looking at the pictures. He couldn't figure them out. They looked like they were taken in his own house, but there were never any pictures taken there that he was aware of. And the cloudy figure... He could only guess that it was himself. He took a shaky breath and turned the corner into a living room. He looked around slowly, taking in the scene and searching for Heero.

Not seeing him, he continued on through another doorway. Inside he found a kitchen. And there in the corner, sitting on the tiled floor was Heero. He was hugging his knees to his chest and his eyes were closed, his head resting on his knees. Duo held back a cry of despair and started across the kitchen. Not looking at the ground, he accidentally stepped on some broken glass. Heero's head shot up, his eyes wide and wild. He stumbled to his feet as Duo stood there, watching. Heero's breathing was quick and he was back in his green tank top and blue jeans. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" he asked in a raspy voice.

Duo felt tears pricking the back if his eyes. "I'm a new neighbour. Your door was open and I wanted to know if you were ok," Duo quickly lied.

Heero relaxed a bit at that and said, "Sorry for worrying you - But you can leave now, I'm fine." He turned and hurried from the room, disappearing around the corner.

Duo followed. He wondered if he'd done the right thing in lying. But it wasn't like he was going to say 'Hey, I'm your lover from another world when you were alive. Some guy took you away and sent you here so I came after you.' That would be realistic...

He came up on Heero as he paced around a greenhouse that was built into the back of the house. Plants were dead and pots that were filled with soil were broken on the floor. Heero glared up at him. "I said you could leave!" he cried angrily.

"Well, I just... I just wanted to... um... to get to know you, that's all." Duo pretended not to be interested in Heero romantically. "Why do you live alone here?" he asked, trying to be casual.

Heero shook his head and stalked out of the room past Duo. He started running and went into the next room. Duo turned and jogged after him. He came upon him in the living room. "Heero-please!" he cried when he started away again.

Heero spun around, his eyes again wide and wild. "How do you know my name?"

Duo blinked. He'd forgotten not to mention that he knew him. "Um... I heard it from another neighbour," he said quickly.

Heero's brows came together and he scowled angrily. "Why won't you leave? I want to be left alone!"

"I just want to be your friend, Heero!" Duo retorted, his patience wearing thin. He just wanted to take Heero away from here. "Please tell me why you want to be alone."

Heero's expression softened to a mildly suspicious look. "After Duo left, everything fell apart and I just wanted to be by myself."

At the mention of his name, Duo had to surpress another cry of distress. "Who was Duo?" he asked instead.

A small, longing smile graced Heero's lips. "Duo was the one guy who showed me real love. He was the kindest person I ever knew. I loved him more than anything else. But when he died..." His lips trembled and his eyes filled. He shook his head. "It was like the end of the world."

_I am / A little bit of loneliness / A little bit of disregard / Handful of complaints / But I can't help the fact / That everyone can see these scars_

Duo's breath caught in his throat when Heero claimed he had died. "You know... I had someone like that once..." Perhaps easing into the facts was better for Heero... "He was so sweet and caring. We loved each other so much - It hurt just to leave him. He died not long ago." Duo wondered if this would work. There wasn't much more to lose... Why not try it?

A pained look crossed Heero's features. "I'm sorry..." he whispered, letting his gaze drift to the floor. "What was his name?"

_I am / What I want you to want / What I want you to feel / But it's like / No matter what I do / I can't convince you / To just believe this is real_

Duo swallowed hard. "H-his name was..." He bit his lip. Heero looked up inquiringly. "His name was Heero." Heero looked a bit panic-stricken. "You and he are nothing alike, though," Duo quickly added, hoping to douse Heero's obvious growing uneasiness.

"What is your name?" Heero asked in a low voice.

_So I / Let go / Watching you / Turn your back like you always do / Face away and pretend that I'm not / But I'll be here / 'Cause you're all that I got_

"My name is... Solo," Duo stammered.

Heero relaxed again. "How did your Heero die?" he asked warily. He was greatly relieved to know that this boy's name was not Duo. "Duo got really sick before he died. I don't remember what he had though..."

"He died in a car crash... He was in a coma for a long time before he died." Duo kept his eyes on Heero. "But I couldn't see him... After his crash, I didn't see him again... Not even as he was in his coma. Then I went mad."

Heero quirked an eyebrow. "You what?"

_I can't feel / The way I did before / Don't turn your back on me / I won't be ignored / Time won't change / This damage anymore / Don't turn your back on me / I won't be ignored_

"You heard me. I went mad." Duo's thoughts were all mixed up. He didn't know what to say. He just knew he had to make Heero realize who he was. "But that's not really relevent at the moment."

"How did you get better? You don't seem mad to me..." Heero narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I saw him again."

_I am / A little bit insecure / A little unconfident / 'Cause you don't understand / I do what I can / But sometimes I don't make sense_

Heero blinked. "That's not possible. You can't see the dead. Maybe you just thought you saw him since you weren't in the right mind..." Heero seemed to be subtly desperate. He was whispering.

_I am / What you never wanna say / But I've never had a doubt / It's like no matter what I do / I can't convince you / For once just to hear me out_

Duo blinked lazily and shook his head. "I wasn't delirious, if that's what you're getting at... I saw him. He came back to me." He didn't move as he said this. He was tempted, but he didn't want to alarm Heero. "Did Duo never come back to you?"

_So I / Let go / Watching you / Turn your back like you always do / Face away and pretend that I'm not / But I'll be here / 'Cause you're all that I got_

Heero shook his head quickly. "No! He never came back! He was dead! He couldn't come back or else he would have! I don't know what's wrong with you, but the dead cannot come back to see the living!" He took a step backwards.

_I can't feel / The way I did before / Don't turn your back on me / I won't be ignored / Time won't change / This damage anymore / Don't turn your back on me / I won't be ignored!_

Duo didn't move. "But the dead can see the dead, right?"

Heero's expression showed his confusion at the question. "What are you talking about!"

_No / Hear me out now / You're gonna listen to me / Like it or not / Right now / Hear me out now / You're gonna listen to me / Like it or not / Right now!_

"I think you know."

_I can't feel / The way I did before / Don't turn your back on me / I won't be ignored / Time won't change / This damage anymore / Don't turn your back on me / I won't be ignored_

Heero's hands shot to his head and he shook it fiercely. "No! You're not Duo! You and I are alive! Get out and leave me alone!" he screamed and ran down the hallway and into a room, slamming the door behind him.

_I can't feel / I won't be ignored / Time won't change / Don't turn your back on me / I won't be ignored!_

Duo stood there calmly for a few seconds before walking after Heero. Tears streamed silently down his cheeks and fell onto his shirt. He went up to the door where Heero had gone to and opened it, pushing it in. He heard Heero's choked sobs and saw him sitting on the floor on the other side of the bed. Duo went inside and around the bed, watching him.

Heero was rocking back and forth as he sat with his back against the bed and his other side brushing the wall. He hugged his knees to his chest again and cried into his arms. Duo felt fresh tears fall from his eyes as he kneeled next to Heero and put his arms around the boy's shaking shoulders. "It's me, Heero... I came to bring you back to where you belong. In Summerland, with me. Don't stay here, Heero. It's destroying you." Heero didn't protest to Duo's embrace or his words as he sobbed. "If you won't come with me, then I'll stay here with you. I don't care - as long as you're always with me..."

After a moment, Heero looked up, his eyes red from his sobbing. His lips trembled as he looked into Duo's eyes. Duo backed up and let his arms fall back down to his sides. Heero suddenly launched himself back into Duo's arms and cried between sobs, "Take me home, Duo! I miss you so much!"

Duo smiled. "Don't worry, Heero... I will. And I'll never let anyone take you away ever again."


	13. Love is Painful

Rewriting. 

Warnings: Yaoi. Song is "That's the Way it is" by Celine Dion.

Shinigami Chapter 13: Love is Painful

Shinigami felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach and an ache in his heart when he saw Duo stalk moodily into his throne room. Their eyes met for but a moment before Duo looked away and Heero stepped in right behind him. He watched Shinigami with a sort of cold wariness as he came up next to Duo and slipped his hand into Duo's palm. "Shinigami... I came to let you know that Duo had found me and I'm going to Summerland. Just in case you cared..." he said quietly but clearly, his voice seeming loud in the stone room.

_I can read your mind and I know your story / I see what you're going through, yeah / It's an uphill climb, and I'm feeling sorry / But I know it will come to you, yeah_

Shinigami smiled sadly and nodded. "Yes..." he said, rising and crossing the room to stand before them - at a distance, of course; Duo let him know he could stop with a cold glare and a scowl. Shinigami ignored him and looked at Heero. "I'm sorry for everything, Heero. I know it would be asking too much if I asked for your - and Duo's - forgiveness, and I don't expect to be forgiven, but I hope you both do know that I regret what I've done and I wish I could undo it all-" He stopped and sighed. "Well, you get the point. I'm truly sorry."

_Don't surrender 'cause you can win / In this thing called love_

Duo nodded and Heero smiled slightly. "Thank you for that, Shinigami. We appreciate that you understand how much we mean to each other." He and Duo exchanged grins.

_When you want it the most there's no easy way out / When you're ready to go and your heart's left in doubt / Don't give up on your faith / Love comes to those who believe it / And that's the way it is_

Shinigami frowned and looked away. "It certainly puts my mind at ease to know that my wrongs have been righted again." He looked back up at Heero with a slight smile. "Thank you for showing me how to love," he whispered.

_When you question me for a simple answer / I don't know what to say, no / But it's plain to see, if you stick together / You're gonna find a way, yeah_

Heero felt Duo's hand tighten around his protectively. He squeezed back reassuringly. He looked back to Duo and said quietly, "Let's go."

_So don't surrender 'cause you can win / In this thing called love_

Shinigami watched them as they left his throne room and he stifled a distressed cry that began to climb up his throat. He gulped and followed them out to the front hall slowly.

_When you want it the most there's no easy way out / When you're ready to go and your heart's left in doubt / Don't give up on your faith / Love comes to those who believe it / And that's the way it is_

The two were talking to Wufei, Hikaru, Trowa, and Quatre, and Jemima was standing off to one side, watching sadly. When she spotted Shinigami, her eyes lit up excitedly. She hurried over to him, unnoticed, and beckoned him to lean down so she could whisper in his ear. He shook his head quickly, whispering back fiercely.

_When life is empty with no tomorrow / And loneliness starts to call / Baby, don't worry, forget your sorrow / 'Cause love's gonna conquer it all, all!_

While they quietly argued, the other six were calmly discussing something. This lasted for about three minutes before they reached an agreement and Jemima convinced Shinigami to give in to her little plan.

_When you want it the most there's no easy way out / When you're ready to go and your heart's left in doubt / Don't give up on your faith / Love comes to those who believe it, ohhhhh_

Shinigami strode nervously to the group and stood before them, his expression doubtful and rather fearful. Trowa motioned for them all to follow him out the front door and they did so willingly. Shinigami followed out last.

_Don't give up on your faith / Love comes to those who believe it / And that's the way it is_

The darkness stood like a black hole outside the light of the castle. Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, and Hikaru talked quietly for a few more minutes while Duo kept a watchful eye on Shinigami who trailed along behind humbly.

Trowa cocked his head, indicating that they should all follow him now. Trowa, Wufei, and Quatre took the lead, Hikaru behind Wufei, and Heero and Duo came up last.

Shinigami's breath came faster as he realized that this was his last chance. His last shot at happiness with the one he loved...

_That's the way it is / That's the way it is, babe / Don't give up on your faith / Love comes to those who believe it / And that's the way it is_

Catching up to Duo and Heero, he said quietly, "Duo?" Said boy and Heero turned around and Shinigami threw his arms around Duo's shoulders and held tight. He shut his eyes and clenched his teeth, wishing and hoping that Jemima was right... Duo's protesting cries were suddenly drowned out by the earpiercing screams emitted from the throats of the identical braided boys.

Heero and the others (who had turned by now) threw up an arm to shield their eyes from the blinding white light that Shinigami and Duo were giving off. The light turned from white to silver and from silver to purple in a matter of seconds and only one unconscious boy fell to the black ground of the Fifth Level.


	14. Truly Paradise

Rewriting. 

Warnings: Yaoi.

Shinigami Chapter 14: Truly Paradise

Duo awoke with a start. He looked around and realized that he was in his house in Summerland. He had never been inside, but he just felt that that was where he was. He was in a sort of bedroom. There were two windows on adjacent walls opposite the queen sized bed. It looked like a normal room - there was a dresser, mirror, bookshelf, and other things that were in his room when he was alive.

He rose and slowly left the room, feeling oddly nauseated and slightly dizzy. He gripped the door frame and stood there for a minute, trying to remember what had happened. He couldn't remember, but there was a sort of feeling inside him that told him everything was going to be alright, now. He smiled a little and went into what he thought was a living room. Three people he was very happy to see were sitting there. Trowa and Quatre shared the one couch in the room, and his own Heero was dozing in the recliner.

Duo felt a vague familiarity in seeing this house. Everything seemed to be what he always wanted in his subconsciousness. Even Heero was there, safe and complete with his memories.

Trowa looked up and smiled slightly at Duo. He pointed in front of Quatre's face at Duo who stood in the doorway to the left of them. He looked up and beamed at Duo and they both stood up and took Duo through the house and out to a balcony that overlooked the waterfall.

"You've done it, Duo. You did the impossible," Quatre began. "You rescued Heero from the Fifth Level." His eyes sparkled. "And just so you know, Shinigami is gone."

Duo gave them a confused look. "What do you mean, gone?"

"Do you remember when we were about to leave Shinigami's castle with Heero and Wufei and Hikaru?" Trowa asked. Duo thought for a moment and nodded. "Shinigami came after us and for a moment, we all thought he was embracing you for absolutely no reason at all." Duo nodded as he remembered the god throwing his arms around him and holding on as though his life depended on it. "Well, after only about ten seconds, he was gone. Just like that. You were both screaming but then only you fell unconscious. He was gone. Shinigami's companion, Jemima, came out when she heard the screams and she told us what had happened. Shinigami and you are identical, right? So then she told him to do what he did because she was convinced that the combining of you two would work." Duo scoffed incredulously, but Trowa continued, "And it did. Shinigami is now a part of you, whether you like it or not."

Duo was silent for a few seconds. "But then... Who's in Shinigami's place in the Fifth Level?" he asked, bewildered.

"Wufei and Hikaru, of course." Trowa acted as though that were the most obvious part of this whole ordeal. "Jemima is helping them to get accustomed to running the Fifth Level."

Duo nodded. "Can I go see Heero now?" he asked hopefully. "Is that all you had to tell me?"

Trowa and Quatre exchanged glances. "Well, yes, that is all - We just wanted you to know that Shinigami is, in a sense, still getting to Heero... But if that doesn't bother you, then you can go to him now," Quatre concluded with a smile and a nod.

Then they both vanished. Duo blinked in wonder and raced back into the house, eager to see Heero again. He kneeled down next to his chair where he slept and watched his face with so much love in his heart, he thought he might burst. But soon, Heero blearily opened his eyes and stretched, taking no notice of Duo until he sat up and found himself staring straight into the violet eyes he loved so much. He blinked and shook his head as though he thought he was hallucinating. "Duo?" he muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"Hiya, Hee-chan..." Duo replied with a grin.

Heero stared at him with a look that said "I can't believe you just called me that!" But then he smiled and fell to his knees beside him and Duo opened his arms, inviting him into an embrace. Heero laughed and glomped him, knocking him over.

"Oww!" Duo protested when Heero landed on his chest. He laughed too. "Jesus, Heero! What're you tryin' to do? Kill me?"

Heero rolled his eyes. "You're already dead, you moron." He smiled.

Then their lips met for the first time in quite a while in a passionate kiss.


	15. Epilogue

Shinigami Epilogue 

_After a while of living in paradise, Heero and Duo started talking about rebirth..._

_Duo smiled softly. "We should go back just to fall in love all over again..." he said in a low voice close to Heero's ear._

_Heero smiled back. "It'd be worth it just for that."_

_So they did. They were both reborn in America. Duo grew to adolescence in Florida with his parents and two brothers and a sister. He was the oldest and at age 19, he went to college in New York where he met a serious, intelligent, and rather unfriendly boy._

_Heero grew up in New York with a twin sister for whom he cared for very much. At age 19, he also went to college in his home state where he met a strange, loud boy with a yard long braid and stunning violet eyes._

_And it was in this way that they fell in love all over again._


End file.
